


Investigations of a Precient: The Memiors of a Revolution

by Angelwrath



Category: Cloud Atlas - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Reincarnation, Romance, Unofficial Sequel, double universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-15 10:25:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/848428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelwrath/pseuds/Angelwrath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Meronym and Zachry leave the big island, they investigate an artifact recently found that will change their lives, and make they question all they know of faith and fact. How did the love of  Hae Joo and Somni change the world? </p><p>Spoilers if you have not seen the movie..<br/>This is for entertainment purposes only; I do not own the characters of Cloud Atlas nor do not receive any monies in this retelling/sequel.  This is an improved version of my story seen on FanFiction.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Artifact

**Chap 1 Artifact**

Meronym looked out at Big Island, growing smaller and smaller as they rode across the abyss of cerulean sea, the corrugated green mountains rising steep to the azure sky, craggy cliffs and memories fading into the distance as the silver hulled boat rode onward.  She was going back to her land, back to her home, one filled with sickness and death, a people with hope slipping away like the lives of many of her kin.  But her life, her star was a beacon of hope, because in this far away little land, the emerald seamount, she found the way to call her celestial brethren for help. Now there was a chance, however minute, that her prescient tribe, one of the last remaining on the earth as far as they knew, would be saved from their destruction. A tumultuous few weeks it had been for her, but her intuition and hard work had paid off.  Just as she was to celebrate, tragedy befell the land of her newfound friends.  It was much emptier of a place now, after the placid folk of the village lay massacred by the cannibal hordes.  Her attention turned to the two new passengers; Zachry and his niece.  They stared at the little island growing fainter in the distance too, strained looks on their faces, sadness in their eyes.  Theirs was a new world of lonesomeness and grief. The little girl’s hand reached up and touched the glass.

“Muchy smaller now, our home.  But it not our homeplacen be reconin’.” Said the Catkin girl, her fingers separated by a small space. She peered at the green island through these fingers with one eye. She pouted and put her head on Zachry. “I trying not past livin, but my moma on my mind. I be wishing she here with us on the water bird.” the girl said.

“In my mind she staying something fierce, little one.  She never leavin’.  That be alright.  The body don’t stay but in your mind she stay.  Sometime futurelike it not hurtin like fire in your chest. One day smile you will when she come visit your dreams.” Zachry replied, hugging her close and rocking her in his stong arms.   His good eye wandered over to Meronym, to whom he dared send a pained smile.  His gazes were often times intense; Meronym thought that they revealed a fraction of the complexity that dwelled in his soul. A conflicted, imperfect soul, she felt, one that intrigued her enough to convince her shipmates to bring them along with them. Meronym smiled and turned away, walking slowly down the hall to an alcove that had become her office on the transport ship. She waved a hand and opened the wall completely, so that even once inside, she could look out over the waters.   If Zachry needed her, he knew where to find her.  Best to leave them alone for now. 

Meronym sat at her desk, deep in thought. She was forever intrigued by this island man, a man she was drawn to, inexplicably, since he first sneered at her as a guest of his sister’s at their home. They recognized each other.  But how? She had never been on that island before; he had never left the island since birth.  It was peculiar.  She felt they had been in each other’s presence for years.  She wanted him to come with them; actually it was what was best for them.  But she did feel he wanted to come, too, behind that rough, surly exterior. And Catkin, even though saddened by her family’s death took to the new experiences with the flexibility and tenacity of childhood.  Meronym was not worried about the girl eventually doing well, just her sometimes brooding uncle. She was the one who would lead their journey, since Meronym was a linguist and the Prescient tribe historian, one who knew intimately about the Valleymen’s language and cultural norms.

The trip back to the Prescient homeland would take manydays, and that left Meronym with some time to work on the ship. During her long voyage searching for a satellite link in the remaining parts of the reachable world, they uncovered many places and artifacts.   Finding the religious buildings and the artifacts were fascinating, though not helpful in Meronym’s quest to find the signal posts she needed to get a message to the off-world colonies.   After all that had happened in Zachry’s Valley, they laid in wait for the results of her signal.  She finally had some time to further her inquiries into these recently found treasures.  For the moment, Meronym was allowed to return to her former position as historian.

She looked down at the carefully wrapped package she had placed in her desk; an artifact rescued from a recently deadlanded area near New Seoul.  The place appeared to be a house of worship yet it hid a military academy, the excavator said.  The researchers felt this site was held by Union and was the origin of a little known part of their religion:  a sect of religious soldiers.   The Liberator Priests were founded by General An-kor Apis himself, according to rumor. This group was not well understood because of the secrecy necessary early in the uprising. The suspicion was they were instrumental in furtively aiding and supporting the newly enlightened fabricants and spreading the religion of Somni, until their uprising eventually toppled the entire government. They scattered after The Fall.  Unfortunately the Fall became a death knell for their civilization. 

The package had been cared for delicately; wrapped securely and put in a safe box, found stored in what they thought was an altar in the newly flooded cathedral. Meronym pulled on her gloves, in order to keep the oils on her fingers from damaging the find.  It felt precious, sacred, the pages worn by reading, folded in places, fragile. Meronym’s historian’s hands moved them gently; she documented everything on the recorder; lest the book implode or disintegrate before her eyes.   The pages were hand written, rather unusual for the day.  As she lifted it out of the wrapping, it separated and startled her.  It was a set of four books actually.  In the first section, the tenants from Sonmi were fully written out, the fading ink neatly printed on fabric-like pages.  Meronym gasped…the writing was familiar… could this be the originally written tenants by Somni or Archivist Park?  For a moment, she dared to dream.  Even though she did not believe in the idolatry of Somni, it was still breathtaking to believe that she was holding something with such significance.

The next three were journals, it seemed.   The second book drew her attention the most; it was a small book, rounded edges, worn and dirty.  This was titled “Libera” by a piece of paper now loosely affixed to the front cover.  She peeled back the label gently, under it was the simple word “JOURNAL”.  It was a diary, a memoir with notes interposed.  “Hae Joo Chang” was the name scrawled on the inside cover. Yet someone had then named it differently, and obviously held it in high regard.  Her eyebrows rose instinctively; who was this man?  Meronym gently fanned out the fragile, sticking leaves with bated breath.  The writing was small, hastily written, it seemed.  On several pages there were faded fingerprints. Some pages were water damaged, barely readable. There were pages inserted and affixed by glue that were slightly larger than the original.  She took care to keep these loosened pages in the order found.   

 On an inner back page there were pictures; one was the ubiquitous Image of Somni, but different than she had ever seen. She seemed younger, innocent, determined. There was a softness in her eyes, she appeared hopeful.  She was wearing “pureblood clothes”, a stylized off shoulder embellished top in deep blue. There was no collar on her neck, as found on fabricants, so Meronym surmised that this picture was taken after her rescue.  Meronym knew that Somni came from a line of replicants; her face was commonplace.  Yet Somni 451 had a different look; her eyes were transformed, filled with knowledge and wisdom. This image, she believed, was Somni 451 but it was unique; she was smiling.  Meronym bit her lip and she sighed.   The images of Somni 451 kept by Unanimity were stark, dark. Even in her broadcast, Somni was somewhat melancholy.  Those images always gave Meronym pause; there always seemed to be such sadness in Somni’s eyes.  Meronym scolded herself; why did she put so many emotions to a visage?  It was just a picture after all. 

Below this was a headshot of a young Korean man of mixed lineage.  His expression was serious, lips pursed tightly yet his eyes were gentle and deep. His face was oval, his hair fairly long, swept across his forehead so it made him seem boyish. There were several faint scars across his cheeks. The messaging implant, a precursor to the ones the prescients now used, on his left temple was also just barely visible.  He was wearing the simple black high neck jacket of workers in his day that became the identifiable symbol of everyman, the uniform of Union. Full of idealism and intention, she thought.  Was this Hae Joo Chang?   Obviously, he must have been a man of some significance, to be pictured next to Sonmi.  Meronym did not know what the hierchy of the Union was at that time; it became stronger and larger once it rose out of the canals of Old Seoul. Meronym had never seen his likenessbefore.

Meronym flipped to a group of pages that were added in the very beginning.   She leaned back into her chair and began reading.  She had to find out why this journal was “Libera”.

_A note from General Apis_

Meronym’s eyebrows rose again, and inside, she became excited.  Was she looking at script from the renowned General’s own hands? 

_This journal was given to me by Commander Hae Joo Chang shortly before he left with the delegation to the outpost where Sonmi 451 delivered her great message. I tried to dissuade him from going.  He was too important to the Union to lose in such an endeavor.  He flatly refused my urgings; he would not leave Somni’s side, even though he knew the probable outcome. He felt that his being with her was essential to strengthen and allow her to do what she needed to, so he convinced me.  He had discovered her, nurtured her, and protected her. I believe he was correct.  No one other than Sonmi was taken back from the island alive. She soon perished by the hands of Unanimity as well. We will be forever grateful for their ultimate sacrifice; that small band of revolutionaries gave freedom to many._

_The death of Commander Chang is quite a loss for Union, as well as for me personally.  It has taken me some time to read his journal.  Hae Joo was like a son to me.  I first met him while he was young, a student in the University as he studied cytogenetics.   He eventually learned the truth about the fabricant industry, the murder and cannibalism of humans.  It was effortless to bring him to our cause.  Despite his quiet demeanor and mild nature, he took to our military training quite well.  Chang was agile and strong for his tall, slim frame. He was focused and effective during battle, a born marksman and adept at hand to hand combat.  He became my own guard for some time, yet I believed him wasted in this position._

_Chang and the other science officers eventually began working on a plan to free fabricants.  The Union had toyed for some time with the idea of affecting the fabricants in some way; at first by trying to convince them, so they would just talk with them. Since this proved fruitless, the officers then believed a virus or a drug that would be needed to change their docile nature.  The fabricants had faster metabolisms; they grew to adulthood quickly, they learned quickly, they grew old quickly. They had little time for social and emotional development. Therefore Unanimity “recycled” them after brief lives of backbreaking labor.  They outfitted them with collars that a Seer could use to kill any fabricant at will.  We also realized that the collars were a way to track a wayward fabricant out of the range of their detonation devices.  Anyone humane looking at this in a logical, rational way could see this as wrong.  As criminal and cruel.  There were enough of us who felt the same._

_Mother Nature in her divine wisdom did our job for us.  After some investigation of the fabricant industry, we discovered problems favorable for our purposes. As the clones were duplicated, each line mutated bit by bit.  The mutations manifested in intolerable behavior problems around fabricant 1000; therefore they terminated each line around that number.  The fabricants were also becoming more intelligent each passing iteration.  The attitude and personality issues became more difficult to spot while still in the manufacturing facility. They “decompensated” and grew more unmanageable and unpredictable the older they became.  More of a problem for Unanimity. Therefore they limited their lifespans, but the market drove them to produce more and more fabricants despite these issues._

_Certain lines, such as the female servant fabricants, seemed to have a higher incidence of late unpredictable behavior, according to our sources in the governing body.  We concentrated on observing those in their working environments in Neo Seoul.  I sent out a group of my most trusted officers to scout out and attempt to recruit these fabricants, Commander Chang being one of them.  I felt his gentle nature and kind ways would work well in this endeavor. These fabricants needed to be approached gingerly; they were kept naive and indoctrinated that if they were disobedient they would be “excised.” The powers that be could not call it what it actually was: execution.   Multiple attempts at freeing and then supporting the development of a free-willed fabricant were unsuccessful.  That was, until Chang spotted a pair of fabricants in Papa Song’s restaurant who seemed to have developed a friendship, which was unusual. While undergoing closer scrutiny, the Yoona unit was killed after she struck a consumer and tried to escape.  Chang acted on his own and quickly retrieved Sonmi 451 that night, afraid that the enforcers would catch up with her.  And the rest, as they say, was history._

_I questioned him about his success with Somni 451.  Chang said the key was that from the beginning, he always gave her a choice.  He exercised her free will from the moment they met.  She CHOSE to go with him.  She was scared but CHOSE to stay, and did not try to return to her Seer as did the others. She CHOSE to read, and learn, and develop into a realized human. When he lost her briefly, during her incarceration, he would not rest. He was more agitated about her than I had ever seen him.   Chang, though injured from his fall, insisted on being the one to free her so against our advice, he broke into the prison and stood watch by her door disguised as a guard, waiting for the best time to act.  It was sheer luck that this jailbreak was successful.  He brought her back to his hideout in Old Town.  I chastised Chang for his recklessness and was contemplating bringing Somni underground.  He would not have it.  I saw a fierce protectiveness in his eyes, and a genuine concern for her that made me reconsider.  He was all she knew and if he was successful in helping her develop into a free willed replicant, we would have what we needed.  It was not the time for rebuke. I agreed, but asked him to start keeping a journal, so that we would have record of occurrences from his perspective.  He complied, as you see._

_Sonmi and Hae Joo had become close; I did not know until reading his journal just how close. The essential element of interpersonal chemistry and the attachment that was immediately apparent between them was what I felt made this attempt successful.  He brought her to meet me only when he felt she was ready. She developed beyond our expectations in such a short time under his doting, protective care, so I left them largely alone, allowing him to be her constant guardian and teacher. I should have known that the rules, all rules that governed the fabricant’s lives would be eventually broken by Sonmi 451. She became so much more than I imagined was even possible, and to my chagrin, she acted more human than I realized. At first I was appalled when I found out what happened between them.  To become involved with one’s charge was forbidden; it complicated matters. I placed the onus on Hae Joo; I felt he should have shown restraint.  After thinking about it more in the ensuing days, it all made sense. It was easy to see how it all fell into place, in retrospect._

_It seems that two young souls discovered a greater motivator than the high ideals of the Union in the dark, flooded alleys of Old Seoul.  The leadership of Union had, in all its aspirations to help the fabricants be courageous, free humans, underestimated the necessity and strength of the most human emotion of all.  The simplest way to tell their story is that a revolutionary officer and a free willed fabricant fell in love and then propelled a revolution.  It was through their mutual adoration that Somni found true freedom, which allowed her the strength to develop as she did. The truth is their brief, yet tragic, love bore tremendous fruits: The death blow to the foundation of Unanimity._

_I have often thought their meeting was probably not by chance alone.  That the whole lot of us being at this time and place was not just by happenstance.  I learned much about both Hae Joo but also Somni in his rather candid and complete retelling of their time together. Somni’s words of truth, her tenants, have become essential spiritual food for the revolution; which was something that we were missing.  In large part, we have Hae Joo Chang, and whatever led him to her, to thank for Somni 451 becoming a part of our revolution. I have to admit, I am not one to delve in the belief of divine intervention but something was afoot here that I am still trying to understand._

_I now give you the words of Hae Joo Chang, the liberator and most adoring follower of Somni 451. Within it you will find my historical notes, like these, added where I find it pertinent.  You can then form your own opinion._

_General An-kor Apis_

Meronym leaned back and took a deep breath.  Now she knew who this Hae Joo Chang was.   She had only heard vague stories about this male figure. In some rare images, he was depicted as a larger than life figure who held a glowing Sonmi aloft, above him as trampled remains of Unanimity lay beneath his feet. It was not the image of the real, young revolutionary who loved the real Sonmi.  Her hands shook with the realization of what she had found: books that were the birth of a religion.  She was in awe of her discovery.

“By Somni…” Meronym muttered, then laughed out loud as she realized what she had said. 

 

 


	2. Treasure Found

 

“Ehem..” 

Meronym turned to the voice with a start.  Zachry was leaning against a wall, observing her.

 “I didn’t see you.” She said, gasping, motioning for him to come by her.

“Now why is a prescient, don’t believen, calling Somni?” he said, impish grin on his face.

“Now why is a Valleyman sneaking up on a Prescient?” Meronym said, with a chuckle. “Where is Catkin?”

“Young uns friends anew on this ship be muchly more interesting than old, slow kin.” He said, sitting on a chair nearby.  Zachry still was not completely comfortable with her yet, Meronym felt.  Yet he seemed to enjoy her company.  And seek her out often.  His eyes fell upon the old books in her lap.

“What old trappins you reading?” his brows knitted.  “They like the tomes in the house of the Abbess.”

“No, they are not hers but probably from about that time…” she stopped, realizing she was not talking Zachry’s dialect. “I sorrysome.”  He looked at her for a second, puzzled. Then comprehension came over his face.

“No point in apoligizing for leaving your Valleyman’s tounge.  I can cog what you say. Just take longer timewise.” She smiled. He returned a twisted smile.  “Probably better I start speaking Prescient since I not be seeing many Valleymen where we heading.” She nodded.  That was true. 

“Taint muchly different. Sometimes I cog our voices clearer in Valleyman than Prescient. More like song.” He smiled, his gaze returning to the books.  “You think me true about the books?” She asked.   He looked at her and nodded.

“Is your say so…” he said.  He leaned forward in the chair. “There more to that story.”

“We found these in a deadlanded temple across the water.  They were written by the old uns, the  ones who tripped the Fall…”  Meronym started.

“That the true true?” he said. He leaned back and stared at her.

“This one by the hand of General Apis.”  She said.  His eye opened wide and he leaned forward, almost in reverence.

“That the name of one of the holy ones! My kin by wedding, Adam, always jabbering about somesuch  Lost Books, Some General An-kor, Joo Chang or some like. I was coging it unreal.” Zachry continued. “Liberators looking for them constantlike as if the pages could banish Old Georgie himself.” Meronym looked at him incredulous. 

“What you know about Liberators?  What Adam tell you about lost books?” she asked.  Zachry looked at her suspiciously.

“Don’t cog much other than books be lost long ago.” He said. “An old Liberator priest came to us way back; came lookin for his books, stayin by teachin us words of Somni. He only found big likeness of Somni, the one the Abbess keep.”  He looked down at her stack of books and pointed at the first one, the one with Somni’s tenants “Brought us one like that.  The Abbess and young Adam like born followers of his yarnin’ swallowing every word said like they thirsting for water.”  He said. “Adam constantlike givin gifts to those lived before, obsessed he was.” He looked down and pulled at the edges of his cloak back.  “Said his kind way back like him warrior folk.  Freed slaves, he said. Carried spikers like these.”  Zachry pulled out his knife and handed it, blunt end first to Meronym. “He gifted this to me when I go off to tend the goats; protection from the diresome.”

“The Kona?” She said, touching and turning the dagger.  It was light and strong, the blade used but still sharp.  The handle was braided, flattened metal with stars stamped along it.  Her eyes opened wide. These were made from the collars of fabricants. 

“And devil spirits like old Georgie supposed. But it dont work for me.   Adam says because I didn’t believe blind.”   Zachry became withdrawn. “Adam believe in it but it don’t stop him becoming Kona meat.” He said quietly. Meronym kept quiet for a moment, because she had heard from Rose that Zachry witnessed that gruesome act, paralyzed with fear as the Kona attacked and killed Adam and his son.  It was his badge of shame within the Valleymen.

“And the Priest? Where he gone?” Meronym asked, pulling him back to the present.  He was happy to change the topic. 

“He disappear up the Devil’s mountain one day, looking for his find.  Never be seen after.” Zachry pulled around his cloak. “Priest told me something important one day, I will do.  Said Somni smile at me.  I thought him crazy lost.” Zachry looked down at the books.

“Well Zachry, possible these be his find, I reckon so…” Meronym said.  “I just first looking at them.”  Zachry got up.

“Well, I’ll be leaving you to your reading.” He muttered.  He turned away abruptly and headed quickly down the corridor. 

“You dont need be running away.” Meronym pleaded, jumping up and leaning out the door.  Zachry stopped and turned his head, but did not face her.

“I know you not cog like I do, but playing with what writ by hands of the holy makes me fearsome.”  He stood tense and still for a moment.  Meronym walked up to him.

“No worries Valleyman.   I look on your holy book with respect.”   Zachry grunted, and kept walking. She certainly did not want to upset him. But she really wanted to find out more.   Meronym returned to the book and gently turned the pages…

_Sept 25, 2113._

_I am Commander Hae Joo Chang, First Science Officer of the Union Rebellion.  I have been instructed by General Apis to document the occurrences of the recent past concerning the fabricant Somni 451 for posterity.  I am to document not only occurrences but my thoughts and feelings on the matter.  Henceforth I shall, yet I am unsure of why he finds this so important.  I hope he finds what I do sufficient._

_I will begin with some pertinent history: Why am I part of the Union Revolution? Because it is unconscionable to not be._

_I was born in the dregs of Old Seoul to poor parents who were eventually displaced from their jobs by the onslaught of fabricants.  My parents hated them; but I did not.  I found it sad to see them.  Ordered around by their Seers they had blank stares, abbreviated lives.  When removed from their controlled environments, they were helpless.   They did not even know how to respond to help.  Others called them sub-human, stupid, worthless.  I could not…they looked too much like me to dismiss them as unimportant. They were humans, I believed, just like us._

_I found the pursuit of knowledge my path out of Old Seoul.  I eventually excelled in the scholarly arena.  I worked within the conventions of society as a matter of survival, yet the treatment of fabricants still irked me.  In order to find out more about it, I studied cytogenetics in University and found out the shocking truth about what was really occurring in the fabricant industry.  I learned to temper my distain, hide my actions and words, so as not to draw attention from the Unanimity officers who asked too much. I began secretly reading words of freedom and honor and revolution written from across the ages, especially those banned by Unanimity._

_The tendencies of man are repetitive and consistent.  Power, greed, hate, and deceit are in direct opposition to yet exists alongside selflessness, love, honor, and truth. As for Unanimity, absolute power corrupts absolutely.  There is a greater spirit that abounds in the face of tyranny: the hunger for freedom and the desire to help your fellow man.  I soon found others who felt the way I did and joined a cause as old as freedom itself. Revolution. The ironic thing is it led me back to the underground of Old Seoul.   But I digress._

_Truth be told, I know that this journal is not for me to expound on my personal crusade.  It is because General Apis was displeased with my handling of the mission as of late. He feels I have become too invested, and I may make critical mistakes.  He wanted me to document my actions so that he may learn, in the future, what to do differently if I fail._

_I will continue the primary intent, my recollections with how I first met my charge, Somni 451._

_When we Science officers began looking for fabricants in Neo Seoul, I targeted several restaurants with fabricants working there.  My fellow officers were having no luck with the fabricants they tried to rescue.  They were so indoctrinated that the simple idea of leaving their positions was too much for them to handle, they said.  I then went to Papa Song in my quadrant.  After only a day of observation, I saw what I was looking for.  There was at least one fabricant I found seemed to display some unusual actions.  She also seemed to have a curiously close association with her Seer; a little too familiar and she showed a little too much emotion.  This one was interesting, indeed.   On occasion she walked over to another, warier fabricant.  They seemed to be friends._

_I was able to identify their names when I walked by their pedestals; the first was Yoona 939 and the second was Somni 451.  I had to decide which one to target for approach.  Yoona, I believed, may be a little too brash. She did seem as if she already was quite self aware, and becoming more inquisitive, but I sensed a lack of good judgment.  She frequently looked longingly towards the elevator, talked to herself frequently. The other server, Somni, was mainly observing Yoona, with concern and caution.  There was something about Somni that I thought I could work with.   Later that week, Yoona proved me right in my suspicions. A customer was being rather rude behind her and she struck him with her fist. Definitely too little caution; yet It was amazing to behold. I was as overjoyed as the other customers were appalled. He deserved it. He would never have treated a pureblood like that and gotten away with it._

_Unfortunately Yoona was the one who paid dearly.  Seer Rhee killed her right there by the elevator.  A blast of the collar, Yoona’s blood was soon spreading crimson over the white floor.  Dead in seconds.   She was removed, dragged off like refuse.  No one seemed to care but her friend.   I kept close watch on Somni as long as I could.  She was obviously quite affected; she was shaking and trying her best not to seem upset, but her eyes told me she was confused and terrified.  The other fabricants did not seem affected.  As the day ended, Somni was more in control of herself but seemed deeply saddened, avoiding all contact with the Seer._

_I remained outside of the closed restaurant for a while. I was worried about her.  There was no time for consultation with Apis. According to my surveillance there were a lot of communications occurring over the official frequencies.    The cytogenetic industry and Ministry would launch an investigation of all the fabricants here tomorrow. They may just remove and excise all of them.  I had to make a decision myself.  I kept seeing her face in my mind; Somni seemed so scared. One good thing that meant was that this she was already becoming more self aware.  They would find out her connection with Yoona, and she would be excised, no question.  I had to get back in; I had to get her out._

_The security in this restaurant was thankfully sub par so I found my way in rather easily.  The security cameras were also not difficult to disrupt.  As I entered near the rear of the restaurant out of the corner of my eye I saw Seer Rhee lying on the floor, asleep I thought.  I dropped down, approached him slowly, getting out my hypojet to subdue him if he woke.  I realized he was not breathing, the closer I got.  I noticed several soap boxes open around him, 6 in all.  I felt for a heartbeat once he did not respond to my touch.  He was dead._

_I wonder if he knew what the soap was made of, and that it contained a potent amnestic sedative. The amount he drank was undoubtedly fatal. This was not good; with the seer’s death, the investigation would be stepped up.  Everyone would be questioned.  I went to what looked like a store room and began looking for surveillance equipment.  I found the main system and disconnected it, got rid of its cache.  That would alarm someone, somewhere, I knew but I had some time.  I began to scan the room; it was covered in the Yoona’s genetic signature.  And a weak signal of Somni.  They would find her, and definitely now she would die.  I heard a noise behind me; I swung around to see Somni 451 standing right there…_

_When our eyes met, for a moment everything stood still, we stared at each other, almost in recognition. A strange sensation welled up in my chest, different than just surprise, but I could not place it. She turned to run.  I approached her with care; she was quite skittish. I called her by name and introduced myself. She questioned about Seer Rhee.   I then I told her the greater situation as I saw it.  I hoped to convince her to leave with me. Her eyes were wide with fright._

_“You can stay here and risk detection, or you can come with me.” I finally said, as gently as possible. I was asking her to trust me, a stranger, with her life._

_She looked confused; I don’t think she had never been given a choice before.  She agreed though, after some thought.  Before leaving, she went back to get some shoes and she returned to the closet and grabbed a vidi. I put a black coat over her with a hood._

_She seemed to nearly change her mind at the gate. She paused and looked behind, towards the only world she knew, the only life she knew.  We had to go quickly, but I felt she needed this; so I just stood patiently and waited.  I held out my hand.  She followed slowly, bending under the partially closed gate. I felt elated, but impatient.  We needed to go._

_I put my arm around her and held her close.  She was so unsteady, shaking as we walked to the elevator.  She took my hand with her trembling little fingers at the door. I immediately felt compassion for her.  There was such fear in her eyes.  Once moving up, I backed away a respectable distance, not knowing if it would make her more or less comfortable. I looked at her; every move, every tremor.  I had to try to understand what it was to be her.  I am sure she never left the restaurant for all of her working life.  Everything, just everything is new and frightening.  I smiled as she looked at me for reassurance; then the light of city burst into the elevator._

_“Welcome to Neo Seoul” I said.  Her demeanor changed immediately, she became enthralled.  It was heartwarming to watch; such pure wonder.  Good, I thought.   We walked out to the street and I pulled her hood on and asked her to look down._

_Fist we had to see Ovid to remove the collar as soon as possible.  He would not like the fact that it was so late.  I almost pressed my messager to warn tell him.  I stopped; because I thought it was best to keep radio silence until I get to my safe place. We walked in shadows on deserted alleys.  How unfortunate that this was the first sights of the outside world that Somni had to see._

_I hid her in front of me as I rang for Ovid at his back entrance._

_“Who this? What you want at dis hour??” a disgruntled Ovid said through the intercom._

_“It’s Chang, Ovid.  I need your help. Please, now.”   I said.  Ovid grunted.  He knew the only reason I would be here unannounced would be a good one._

_“I be right down.” Was the sullen response._

_Within minutes Somni was in his workshop, the fabricant collar being prepped for the laser cut.  I looked at Ovid sternly. He knew very well what I was capable of.   He had better not harm her. I took hold of her hand as the machine squealed and sparked.  She was breathing rapidly, she grimaced and wimpered, squeezing my hand, but did not move._

_In seconds she was free.  Somni reached up to her neck and touched it like if it was the first time.  Ovid seemed relieved, and quite pleased with himself.  And less pressured, no doubt, since I was no longer glaring at him._

_“How does it feel?” I asked. A small smile played on her lips._

_“Good…”she said._

_Ovid smashed a part of the collar in a nearby drill press.  “Destroy chip so no follow.  I melt down. No find.” Ovid looked at us and motioned toward the door. “I no see you, you no see me.”  He shuffled off, then paused and looked back over his shoulder, as if to say ‘why aren’t you gone yet?’_

_I bowed to him briefly and hurried Somni out. Ovid just wanted us, trouble, out of his shop.  He did get some small reward; he agreed to remove collars so he could reuse the metal, but that was not it; he was still taking quite a chance doing this.  I was grateful, whatever his reasons._

_We walked quickly along the road to my place in silence.  I was thankful it was stormy and dark, and the streets were deserted. I kept her close, for reassurance.  Somni kept on rubbing her now naked neck.   I have no idea how it felt to have the collar, but I can just imagine how good it feels off.  Once we reached my building, we rushed silently into the rear elevator.  I turned Somni away from the security camera and held her against me._

_As we entered the main room of my apartment, I shut the door behind me and added security. I set up the jamming frequency at the door so no one would be able to scan the apartment. That would raise suspicion if the building was being searched, but for now I was more concerned about nosy neighbors.  Now I felt safe.  She stood paralyzed at the door, not knowing what to do.  I smirked.  She seemed like a helpless child._

_I turned on the main room decoration, textured it nicely and put the vidi of a tree with falling blooms on it. Not quite my style, but I had to attend to a guest now.  I watched her eyes light up, her gasp at the unfolding splendor. It was so charming to behold.  I showed her around the sparse apartment and showed her the clothes I had acquired.  It was good that all fabricants were generally the same size._

_“But these are pureblood clothes.” She said, touching them as if they were icy cold._

_“They are YOUR clothes.” I repeated.  She looked at me incredulous.  What else did she think she would wear? Papa song’s uniform? Those days were over._

_I waved my hand and revealed the outer vidi wall of Old Seoul.  I kept it there, to remind me of what things were to come.  She walked up to it slowly.  I needed to show her that not everything was perfect and beautiful in this new world she was experiencing._

_“This is Old Seoul.” I said. “If the seawater continues to rise at its current rate it will cover New Seoul in the next hundred years…” She looked at me as if confused. My scientist side was showing.  Too much information, I guess.  She returned to peer into the closet._

_“Why don’t you try them on?” I suggested. Her eyes opened widely, a little scared.    She nodded and took the most demure outfit in the closet. “I will be in the next room.” I said as I hurried from the bedroom.  I shook my head internally.  She thought I was ordering her.  I have to be very careful with this one. It will take her a while to understand: she truly was now FREE. But freedom did have its price._

_I turned my attention to the vidi, the only thing that she chose to take with her when leaving Papa Song.  It seemed broken.  I pressed the button._

_“I will not be subject to criminal abuse…” said the actor.  I was a little taken aback; as trite as the acting of this turn of the millennium drama piece seemed, the words were poignant.  Those were Yoona’s last words. It was stuck in a loop and played over and over.  I pulled back a piece of plastic near the switch.  I pointed it at the vidi wall. It did not work. I analyzed it; the chip was corrupted, but I was able to fix it.    There.  That should make her happy._

_I activated my orison; I had to try to get a message to General Apis, to let him know that I had acquired Somni 451.  I composed a rather cryptic message, full of negatives and metaphors, as was our way. I scanned the radiofrequencies; they were very active.  Someone had found Seer Rhee and the enforcers were in route to Papa Song. I sighed. I could not risk the transmission. Soon enough, a missing fabricant would be the Ministry’s primary concern.  With her collar now non-functional, it would become a hunt for a rogue fabricant. Unanimity had become stricter with wayward fabricants as of late; maybe they were becoming more wary of what they were capable of.  A concern much like Dr. Frankenstein, I wonder, frightened of its own creation?  If Union headquarters was capturing these same transmissions, they would soon know, and with my silence, they may figure it all out anyway._

_Somni walked out slowly from the bedroom.  She had also found the bathroom and cleaned off the smudges of dirt from her long legs, evidence of our trip here.  I smiled.  Her genetically engineered characteristics were quite attractive. Not like Frankenstein at all._

_“Do you like it?” I asked.  She nodded quickly.  “You look lovely.” I said, looking at her a little too long, I suspect because she seemed to become uneasy._

_I picked up the vidi and explained what I had done with it.  I turned it on and the tale about Timothy Cavendish came to life on the huge display. She was in awe.  There was that enchanting little smile again as she sat down next to me and we watched her vidi. I must admit I spent a lot of time just looking over at her; the vidi was just not as captivating._

_It touched me, really, to see that pure sense of enjoyment from one who undeniably had been devoid of leisure for so long.  Once it was over she looked at me smiling widely, almost clapping in her excitement.   Then she yawned, and so did I.  I was tired myself because it had been a very long day indeed.  I looked past her to the window in the bedroom, but even though it was still dark, I knew it was very late, almost morning.  We had stayed up all night._

_“Are you sleepy?” I asked.  She nodded, and then put her arms across her stomach. “Are you hungry?” I continued. Again she nodded.  Communication was difficult with so few words._

_“I usually have soap box before sleep cycle,” she said, in the slow, broken consumer fabricant accent. “Last night I did not.”   It was as if she had heard me. This was the first time she spoke of her own accord._

_“That was probably why you woke up.”  I said, getting up. “Soap makes you sleep.” She looked a little confused._

_The soap is a complete nutritional supplement, but with the sedative, it was used to put fabricants in a deep sleep so they would be fully rested after just a few hours and could be put back to work._

_“Sleep like Seer Rhee.” she said, awareness flowing over her face._

_“Not quite.  He had too much. He will not wake up.” I said. She raised her eyebrows._

_I went, by habit, to the food dispenser and made a hot chocolate drink, my only indulgence of the few joys I had in childhood.  I paused and looked back at her. “I usually have something hot to drink before sleeping; would you like some?” She seemed a bit surprised yet nodded.   I made hers with a bit more protein and fat, so it would satisfy her a bit more.  I felt her eyes on me as I walked around, retrieving the drink, then placing the steaming beverage before her.  She was incredulous as I sat down across from her._

_“You…are serving…me?” She said slowly.  I tried to stop myself but could not help it.  She put a smile on my face._

_“You are my guest.” I said. “Please…” I motioned.  She timidly lifted the drink and inhaled, her eyes closing.  Her eyes opened._

_“Consumers order this.  Usually for breakfast.” She said, sipping it slowly. Her eyes lit up and that small smile came over her face.  She licked her lips._

_“Well, I like it at night instead. Do you like it?” I asked.  She nodded again and sipped more. It seemed as if she had not tasted that before.  “You served this at Papa Song’s. Have you not had it before?” she put the cup down and looked away shyly._

_“Servers do not eat or drink the consumers’ meals.” She said.   I actually knew that._

_“I thought you might have tried some…”  I assumed. She looked at me with surprise._

_“That would be against third catechism.” She stated, matter of factly.  I nodded.  The catechisms were ridiculous rules._

_“There are no rules like that here.” I declared.   She then finished it completely, the warmth of the drink permeating her.  Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were closing sleepily.  This was the magic of what the ancients called “comfort food”, no sedative involved. I helped her up and walked her to the door of the bedroom._

_“You can darken the room like this.” I motioned at the light sensor, and the room darkened.  She looked around at the room._

_“We go to sleep in bright light, in boxes. No darkness.” She said.  My eyebrows rose. Boxes. Really?_

_“Then you can leave the room lit if you like.” I offered, raising the lights.  “However, I need a little darkness to fall asleep.  I will be right here in the next room if you need anything.” I said.   She nodded, and then went over to the bed.  She crouched next to it and pushed on it.  “Anything wrong?”  I queried._

_“It is…soft.” She said, looking back at me. She stood up, wringing her hands. “We sleep on hard bed.”_

_“You will find that many things here are different.” I insisted. “If you try it, I think you will like it.” She looked again at the bed shyly._

_It was hard for me to not show how upset I felt at the seers, Unanimity and our society for making this acceptable.  They treated fabricants so inhumanely. There would be many new, pleasant experiences here for her, I hoped.  I smirked to myself.  There was another thing she could have; privacy.  There was no need for me to observe her every move._

_“Sweet dreams.” I said as I turned to leave.  My mother used to say that to me._

_“What?” she said softly. I turned around to find her sitting on the bed mat._

_“Sweet…” I realized it mid-sentence; fabricants may not have dreams, because of the soap sedative. I sighed and leaned back against the wall.  “Dreams.  The vidis in your mind when you sleep.  They can be very pleasant or unpleasant.” I said.  She tilted her head sideways and narrowed her eyes a little.  I would get to know that expression well…_

_“I know what you refer to, but I have never been told to have sweet ones.” She said. She looked again around the room. “I will try.” She said, earnestly._

_“It is more of a wish than an order.” I said, smiling. “It is not always possible to control dreams.” I walked out and slid the door closed behind me._

_I darkened the living area and laid out a mattress for me.  As I drifted off I was a bit unsettled. This was going to be very difficult.  Somni was shy and very innocent.  There was much I needed to teach her yet there was so little time to make a free willed fabricant out of her._

____________________________

_My eyes fluttered open.  The early foggy morning light filtered through the window in the bedroom, which flooded my room with low light.  The bedroom…Somni! … I sat up with a start, a twist in my chest._

_I turned to see her sitting against the wall, arms wrapped around her bent legs, eyes wide.  I stood and approached her slowly.  Her eyes had been glued on me for some time, I suspected._

_“What’s wrong?” I asked, gently.   She looked up at me._

_“I do not want to close my eyes.” She said slowly, deliberately.  I crouched down before her._

_“Why?  There is nothing here to fear.” I said.  “You are safe.”  She looked toward the window for a moment.  I saw her purse her lips.  Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying, or maybe it was just exhaustion.    She looked back, directly into my eyes._

_“When I open them again, will I be back in my box? Is this… just a dream?” she said softly.  There was that twist in my chest again.  What a horrible thought.  I held out my hands and helped her to her feet. I reached for the remote and turned off the textures which turned the apartment into an industrial grey again. Somni backed up, eyes blinking._

_“Somni…this is real.” I said motioning all around, and then I tapped the wall with my fingers.  I grasped her hands gently, and then placed one on the cold surface. She stared the wall, then at both of my eyes, one then the other. She seemed about to cry, shaking her head.  “I…am real.” I said.  I took one of her small hands and placed it inside my open shirt, over my heart. She gasped and swallowed, looking at her hand then back at my face.   I breathed slowly. “I am as real just as you are now. Flesh and blood, as you can feel.  This is no dream.”_

_We stayed there, still for a few moments.  I felt my heart beating, through my chest against her hand. It was so warm. She seemed to calm down and relax._

_“Do you believe me?” I asked.  She nodded.   I dropped my hands away from hers, but she remained for a moment, spreading her fingers, looking at my chest.  She then pulled her hand very slowly away. My heart was beating faster of its own accord. I was taken aback; I had enjoyed her touch._

_I turned on the decoration again and we watched textures and the pleasant colors move over the walls, ceiling and floor.   “Now…please rest.” I said, placing my hands gently on her shoulders.   She nodded and turned to go back to bed.  I watched her enter the bedroom and the door slid closed._

_I sighed and dropped back on the mat, staring at the ceiling.  Being in Union these past few years was self-enforced isolation.  When not isolated, I was on missions, tense situations where I was killing so as not to be killed.   I remembered her hand on me.   It was so refreshing and nurturing to my own soul to be able to be kind and gentle.   I wondered though; will every moment be this intense?_

_I fell back asleep in seconds._


	3. Daylight

_It was already midmorning when I awoke.  For a second, I wondered why I was in the living area.  Then I remembered.  My guest.  I still could not believe it.  I went silently and slid the door open just a little, maybe just to prove it to myself.  There Somni was, resting comfortably on her side.   I slid the door closed. I did not want to disturb her._

_I started doing my exercises.  Even though strenuous, they could be performed silently in a small area.  I have been doing these maneuvers for years. They are based upon ancient martial arts and involve the body and mind; I found them very helpful to me as source of solace when my mind was troubled during my university years.  This is why Union training came so easily to me. Their training was also based upon these ancient military skills and mantras; using your opponent’s strength and weight and inertia to your advantage; the element of silence and observation in preparing yourself against your adversary; strong movements to promote flexibility and agility; the use of your mind as a defensive as well as offensive weapon._

_Then it was time for some business.  I knelt before the table, and sent my orison spinning aloft between my hands. I could scan with my either my implant or the orison, but the orison was more powerful. Anything other than scanning would require connection to the mainframe, which revealed your location.  I could tell that the hunt was on for Somni. From the messages I could intercept, it had taken them a little while to figure out which fabricant was dead and which was missing._

_There was no indication of the enforcers looking for me yet, but I knew it would happen.  They would look to question all who came to Papa Song in the last few days.  My face and genetic signature were all over Papa Song this last week. My identity had been scrubbed several times by the Union connections at the Ministry so I would not be easy to locate.  That would make me a target. For this particular mission I had random identities assigned for what was needed; one for my apartment, another for my credit card, etc.  If captured, I would be labeled illegal._

_I looked through my prized private collection of ebooks and vidis, those kept behind firewalls and encrypted.  I wondered which I should show to Somni; her tutelage would start today.  Many of these were banned by unanimity; those written by philosophers of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment; Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Solzhenitsyn, Founders of the American and French revolutions, The Chinese communist movement, religious books like The Bible, the Koran, Buddhist and Hindu works, etc.  Any one of these would get me arrested.  To be found with all, I would be executed. It never bothered me before, but now I had another concern.  I was putting Somni at risk also._

_An anonymous message, hidden within a commercial transmission, unintelligible and heavily encrypted, came across on my implanted messager.  It had no content; it was a “ping” of sorts, from Union Command. It signaled that all agents on mission were to check in quickly and change their locations. This was an extreme measure; they did not often do this. Therefore, I presumed Union had heard about the missing fabricant and was pulling in their lines.  Any response would mark my location, to Unanimity moreso than Union. Union already knew the location of this place, my Neo Seoul safe house.  My continued silence in response to this message would be a signal as well, however..._

_The only other dispositions for Union to consider once I did not answer were death or capture.  The implanted messagers of Union officers were programed, they transmitted a final location signal when brain waves ceased or when it was tampered with, then they stopped functioning.   Union command would know if I had been captured from our contacts at Ministry.   No contact with an agent for 4 hours after signal could lead to a Union team going to the agents last known base, destroying physical evidence and sterilizing it; removing all known electronic and genetic signatures. If I did not want them to disturb Somni, and also not give up my location to Unanimity, I would have to go to command personally.  My countdown for contact had begun._

_I heard a small noise besides me.  Somni was there, awake, cleaned and dressed.  She looked scared and shifted side to side nervously. I knew what it was.  Doubt and fear had gripped her. I smiled at her.  She looked over my shoulder at the small vidi screens I had open, containing words and images.  She looked away, scared.  Even an unintentional glance at consumer literature was punishable, in her previous world. The Seers kept their fabricants as ignorant as possible._

_“These are for you, Somni.” I said.  Her eyes opened widely._

_“Seer Chang…” she said, voice trembling.  I bristled for a second at the reference.  I forced myself to relax.  I did not want to frighten her any more than she was._

_“PLEASE” I insisted. “You must call me Hae Joo.” She gulped nervously._

_“Hae Joo” she continued timidly “but, fabricants can be excised for this.”  I looked away, trying to hide my disappointment. I turned to her after a second._

_“Well, survival often demands our courage.” I said. I looked at her, at the vidis and looked back again.  A look of realization washed over her face.  Now she understood that the fact was we could both be executed for this.  The innocence in her expression was disappearing.  She seemed to make an internal choice; her body became still, she took a deep breath and stood straight and tall.  It seemed that strength came over her.  She nodded and kneelt next to me._

_“But I do not know what to do.” She said, looking down._

_“I can show you.” I urged.  Her head rose and her eyes met mine.  “But you must want to learn.” I said, softly.  She nodded, urgently.  Was that hope I was seeing in her eyes, or my own joy?_

_So far so good. So very good.  As I raised my hand to maneuver to a bio on_ _Solzhenitsyn, who was referenced in the vidi last night, I heard a growl coming from Somni’s stomach, and I turned to her quickly.  She looked embarrassed, putting her hands over her slim midsection.  I smirked.  I guess I was not being a good host.  Even though enjoyable, our hot chocolate indulgence last night would not sustain her as a soap box would.  She would have to get used to eating meals like the rest of us.   Teaching could wait for a little while longer._

_“Would you like to have something to eat with me?” I said. After my workout in the morning, I certainly was in need of sustenance.  She gave a timid smile.  “What would you like?” I continued._

_“I do not usually have anything ...” She started.  Then, as if a light went off in her head: “What we had last night.” She said, with that eager little smile.  I grinned.  She communicated in so few words, and her expression and mannerisms, though subtle, communicated volumes.  Or maybe it was just me trying to see more in her than she could give._

_She followed my every move as I assembled a light meal.  She tried to get up and help but I sat her gently back down. We ate around the table in the main room, facing each other.  She was appropriate but did seem a little unaware of the convention of polite table conversation. It was to be expected.  Fabricants probably did not eat like this.  Neither did I usually, to be honest._

_“Did you sleep well?” I asked.  “After you went back to bed?”_

_“Yes.  The bed is very comfortable.” She said, with that shy little smile.  “I think that was the longest I have ever slept.” She admitted. She returned to her meal._

_“Well, for that I am glad.” I replied.  I took another bite and let some silence fall between us.  I was not one for talking just to fill a space so I was content to sit there, looking at her.  She had gentleness in her movements, sweetness in her expressions.  Her small smile was irresistibly beguiling.  I was surprised at my own reactions.   Somni drew two emotions from deep within me; one was the desire to fiercely protect her, the other was the urge to treat her with tenderness and patience._

_I wanted her to ask me something, anything, on her own.  My mind wandered back to Papa Song._

_“How were you treated by Seer Rhee?” I queried finally. She seemed puzzled at the question._

_“He treated me like all the other -” she stopped short  “-almost all of the other servers.” She looked down, and continued.  “He treated one of us…differently.”_

_“Yoona 939.”  I said. She raised her head, surprised, then nodded.  Somni knew that I was aware of what happened but probably not that I had seen it firsthand.   I continued.  “I think that consumer was wrong to do what he did to her.  It was disrespectful. And Seer Rhee’s reaction was excessive.” I said, returning to my meal.  She looked at me, eyes round for a moment._

_“You were there?” she gasped.  I nodded.  She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes again. “She did not follow the rules.”  She said.  “Therefore she was punished.  We were all warned. ”_

_“What do you think about her ‘punishment’?” I queried.  Let the learning begin.  She looked pensive._

_“What do I think?” she asked, shaking her head._

_“I am asking your opinion.  What do you think about how Yoona was treated?”  I pushed, yet gently.  She had to start realizing her voice, opinions beyond nice clothes and chocolate drinks.  “Would you have done the same?”_

_“No, I would not.” She said immediately.  She then crinkled her forehead. “Do you mean the same as Yoona? Or Seer Rhee?” That one surprised me._

_“Both.” I said, leaning back on my arm.  I wanted to see if she was able to view situations from the perspective of others, some quite different than she.    She looked towards the wall, pursing her lips in though.  Yet another expression I would get to know well.  Then she looked back at me._

_“Yoona knew she would probably be excised for what she did.  Yoona took risks.  She ran to the elevator to escape punishment. She had no other choice.” She paused a moment. “I would not have punched the consumer, or have gotten angry.” Then a crinkle developed between her brows and she sighed.  I could see that getting into the head of her Seer was more difficult.  “I would have let her go into the elevator.  It is all she wanted to do. To see what it was like up here with the consumers.” She fell silent._

_“And if you were her Seer…” I urged gently, with a soft voice.  She was struggling with this.  She finally shook her head._

_“I do not know how to act like a seer, but I do know that Seer Rhee would not let her leave.  He is responsible for keeping us at Papa Song. ”_

_“Imprisoned?” I said.  I could not help myself.  I should not be quite so blatant.  She looked at me blankly._

_“Employed.  Until exultation.” She declared.  I looked away because I felt myself getting upset. Somni did not know what exultation actually was. Fabricants did not even consider themselves enslaved. They expected exultation as a reward for their years of hard work, and were trained to look forward to it.  Large volume, grand scale murder and butchery is what it actually was.  Horrible.  It made me sick to think of it, and even fearful to think of my Somni going through it.  That is what I now thought of her as.  My Somni. She broke my silence._

_“You are displeased.” She uttered.  I looked up at her.  She was looking intently at my face._

_“No.” I responded tersely. She did not look convinced.  “Yes, but, please understand; not at you.” I corrected, looking back at her.  She nodded, then continued to look at me thoughtfully. “What made you say that?” I wondered aloud._

_“You do this often.” she pushed her lips together and tightened her upper lip.  The expression looked out of place, comical on her soft, pretty face, so I nearly laughed. “You do it when you want to hide what you are thinking.” She said, matter of factly, her face becoming her own again._

_“Really?” I said. She nodded. “Very insightful.”   I was amazed. I did not realize my own mannerisms._

_“As servers, we have to learn many languages.  Even to see what people think, but do not say.” She said, standing and clearing the dishes.    Now it made sense to me; teach servers to read body language and they would know how to serve their consumers better.  And make Papa Song more credits._

_I joined her in clearing away the dishes and cleaning the table.  This was habit for her to do, so I decided not to stop her.   I hoped it would make her feel better, more natural._

_“Were you treated the same way by some consumers?” I asked as we moved around._

_“Yes.  Sometimes they would touch me, push me, and make jokes about me.  Sometimes they would yell at me.” She said, with sadness in her face._

_“And how did that make you feel?”  I asked.  She thought about it a while, then looked at me again._

_“Vulnerable. Frightened. The touching…made me feel most uncomfortable.” She crossed her arms and rubbed her upper arm as if remembering the experiences._

_A disturbing thought drifted into my mind- how did she feel now, here? She was in an uncomfortable position, after all: Alone with a strange man locked in a strange apartment.  I moved away and returned to the table to open my orison._

_“How did you stop them?” I asked.  Just curious._

_“I could not.  I just tried to ignore it, or walk away. ” She said. “ If they became violent, Seer Rhee would intervene.”  She looked down and returned to sit by my side.   I turned to her._

_“Somni…” I said, gently._

_“Yes, Hae Joo?” She replied, with those dark, wide questioning eyes. She turned to mirror me, shifting on her heels.   I liked the way she said my name. It rolled off her tongue so easily._

_“If I ever touch you, or talk to you, or do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, please tell me.” I asked earnestly. She looked at me as she mulled it over._

_“That will not be necessary.” She said finally, turning to look at the spinning orison before us.  I stopped it from spinning and caught it.  She looked back at me, wondering._

_“Why not?” I asked, confused. She took a deep breath._

_“Because I am very comfortable with you, Hae Joo.  Your actions are respectful. The tone of your voice is gentle.  Your touch…” she said slowly, her eyes finding mine, “is kindness.”_

_A lump formed in my throat.  I was utterly floored._

“Meronym, come in please.”  The agitated voice of Corbin, one of the navigators, came in over her communication implant.  It nearly made Meronym jump out of her skin; she was so engrossed in the narrative in the book.

“Yes, I am in my office on A deck.  What is it?” She replied, a little irritated.  She grabbed a marker, and gently closed the book over it, wrapping it back up in its trappings. 

“Well…can you come here please?  We need your help with the Valleyman…”

“What’s wrong, is Zachry OK?”  she queried, getting worried.

“Uh, we think so.  But he is acting strange and we don’t want to upset him.”  Corbin confided.

“What? What do you mean strange?” Meronym shook her head and wondered.  She headed down the hall, to the elevator that lead up to navigation.

“Just… come.  When you get here you will see what I mean.” Corbin said, exasperated. 

Meronym heard him sign off.  She growled internally.  She hoped that bringing Zachry on the ship was a good idea after all.  She really did not know how Zachry would react; he had been through so much.  The Valleymen tribe was an agrarian society, god fearing folk, family oriented; they relied on the tribe for communal success.  The truth was that there was no way she could leave him and his niece alone there on the island, to be eventually eaten by the canabalistic Kona tribe.  But he was in a new world now, and that would take some adjusting.  She raised her eyebrows.  Much like Somni, in Hae Joo’s world, Zachry was an innocent in an advanced society.  Meronym rushed on the flight deck and worked her way to the front.   A group of prescients were looking out of the fore window, murmuring in puzzlement.  Corbin saw her, and came to her.

“Thank god you are here.  I have no idea how he got there.” Corbin said, pushing Meronym to the front of the crowd.

“Got where? …By Somni!”  she exclaimed, putting her hands up on the window.  There, dangerously close the edge of the ship’s gentle, sloping front, was Zachry, standing on the bow, his cloak blowing in the rising breeze.


	4. Doctrine

Meronym stared at Zachry for a few moments, wondering what he was thinking. For a few seconds she held her breath; was he so upset about what they talked about?  The more she looked at him, the less that seemed likely. He seemed comfortable, walking a little back and forth, just as if he was walking on the cliffs on his island.  His body moved with the gentle up and down motion of the ship as it went slow over the water. Then he sat down.  She breathed a sigh of relief.

“I think we have to get him, he may fall.” Corbin said, with concern.

“No, I don’t think so.  He is a goat herder.  I have seen him walk on more treacherous cliffs and outcroppings than this hull." Meronym said, keeping her eyes on Zachry.  Corbin crossed his arms.

“Well, the hull of our ship is not a place to take an afternoon stroll.  And we have to go into hyperdrive with the hovermotor; there is a storm closing in and we have to try and outrun it.” Corbin warned, looking out over the starboard side at the dark, foreboding clouds in the distance.  Meronym looked at him.

“Have you asked him to come back in?” she inquired.  Corbin looked stumped.

“No, I don’t really know how to speak his language.” was the excuse.  Meronym crossed her arms, shaking her head. 

“Really?  Corbin, Valleyman Speak is just a dialect of Prescient, Consumer, English whatever you want to call it.  It is not Subspeak…” she started, then gave up when Corbin shrugged his shoulders.   “I’ll go get him.” She mumbled as she walked by him. 

“Thank you!” Corbin replied back. Then he did a double take. “What?!” 

She was already on her way.

Meronym walked down two levels, to where there was an open walkway on the side of the ship. Meronym shut off the annoying frantic calls of Corbin that were coming through on her device. She walked as far as she could to the front of the ship. There, adjacent to the end of the opening in the hull was horizontal white metal bars, about every foot, going all the way up to the top of the ship’s hull. 

“So that is how you got there.”  Meronym said, and without thinking, she reached out and grabbed the bars, and pulled herself up.  Once on the access ladder, she went up a few rungs until she made the mistake of looking down.  The water churning around far beneath her scared her and she pulled in closer to the hull.  She squinted her eyes shut and breathed deeply a few times. 

“What in hell have I gotten myself into...” she said, looking up. It was definitely closer up than down.  “Come on Meronym, you can do this.  Gotta get this man off the hull.” She said, her heart pumping in her chest.  She climbed it slowly, until she got to the point where the rounded hull flattened enough for her to walk.  She was not as steady as Zachry, it seemed.   There was a raised rubber runner that went from as far back as she could see, rounding around the front of the ship, about a foot in width.  Meronym surmised this was probably for maintenance, not for strolls.   She looked back at the flight deck.  Corbin threw his arms up and grabbed his head, shaking it.  Meronym held up her hand to signal patience.

She walked up, and although terrified, the wind rushing through her hair and the expanse of ocean before her, she had to admit to herself, it was exhilarating.  Zachry was looking  around when she must have caught his eye.  He turned around, in shock.

“Meronym, what in the name of Somni you doing here?”  He said, jumping to his feet and coming to steady her.  She grabbed his hands , and together they walked back to the front where it was most flat.  “You best sit down or I’ll have to be jumping into the drink to retrieve a lost prescient.”  He said.  Meronym aquiessed, feeling unsteady. 

“Zachry the query is why you walking on topside our prescient ship?” She said, as he plopped himself next to her.   He looked at her seriously.  Then looked out over the ocean, and waved his hand from side to side.

“In the bowels of this metal monster you call vessel I cog we moving forwardly but I can't feel or see the earth move. Disconected, apartlike from all surround.  Up here reconnected I am.  And I can see the sea creatures, delving neath the waves.” He said. “Then I cog more about what you tell me in the tower on the Devil’s mount. Bout’ Somni just humankind, persecuted and killed like my Valleymen kin back there.  I tell you true true Meronym it stab my soul. “

“I sorrysome Zachry…out of my  place I was.”  Meronym said.  She had been feeling upset about the sudden revelation.  She still did not know why she did it…Zachry looked at her.

“All that is definite is what mouth taste,  eye see, ears hear, hands feel.  All the rest is what is up here.” He pointed to his head “and in here.” He put his fist on his heart.  “All this Valleyman cog bout that is, the augerin’ I hear from mouth of the abbess keeps me Somni-fearing man, when I think twicely.” 

“What she say?” Meronym asked.  Zachry looked at her with one eye.

“In throws of revelation the Abbess say 3 orders from Somni herself.  The first two the reason you still live to sit by my side. She tell me to go under the bridge when you nearly fall, and the Kona cross over.   She tell me don’t let you go when old Georgie filling my soul with lies on the mountain, when hands ableedin on the rope.  The third time I filled with too much hate to stop me from slittin the throat of my enemy as he lay sleepin, when she said don’t.” Zachry stopped, getting choked up. “only aftern I hearin little Catkin wimpering neath the table, safe until I made it so the Kona I killed couldn’t go back home with his herd.  Nearly killed us both I did, until you come a savin us. “ Meronym blinked.  She didn’t know her life was saved by a message supposedly sent by Somni. Twice.

“Don’t cog what to say bout say so.” Meronym said softly.  Zachry looked at her then nodded.

“Samewise.  So…I cog someone, something out there bigger than I watchin over…don’t care what or who.  But me, simple folk, find it easy to cog one who walk the earth one day be god Somni next.”

Meronym looked at him seriously.  He stood and held out his hand.

“Seems like your kin want for us to return to the underbelly of the beast.” He said, looking over her shoulder.  She turned around.  Corbin and a few other prescients were waving them in from the window.  They both waved back. 

“Long timewise we here.  Must leave now.  Storm’s a commin’.” Meronym said.

“Aye, fine storm lookin’ like.”

“But I like your choice of ocean watchin perch, though.”  Meronym said smuggly, walking back ,  Zachry going before her, but holding her hand tight.   As she was climbing down the access ladder, Zachry waited for her below, and with his strong arms pulled her in to safety easily.  He held on to her close, for a moment longer, as their eyes met.  She held her breath as she examined his blue eye, the roughness in his skin, the tribal mark on his face.

“Sorrysome…” he said letting her go.

“Don’t be.” Meronym said, snaking her hand into his. 

“Something telling me can’t make this habit or on this ship I not be welcome.” He muttered.  They walked silently back to her office.  He stopped in front looking at the books .  “Leave you back with your reading.” He said.

“Interesting, very muchly so tis.  I cog there much to be learned about holy ones by those they knew in sacred texts.” She said. 

“One day, tell me storylike.” Zachry said, leaving her at the door of her office.

She went back in, sat down, and continued Hae Joo Chang’s discourse, right where she left off…

_With a few simple words she had disarmed me.   I had completely underestimated the effect Somni  would have on me. My mouth fell open a little, and it took me a second to regain my composure. She looked away politely.  I suspended the orison and quickly opened up several screens.  I took her hand and lifted it for the orison to scan her._

_“This is my own private library.  It covers many different topics.  I will program it so that you can access all of this.” I explained.  She nodded.  “What would you like to see?” I asked.  She looked around the screens, and then at me._

_“What you think I should know.” She replied. I turned to her.  There was that look of slight worry on her face.  I paused a second.  I just realized I had made that expression again._

_“Somni, you have always been ordered what to think by others.  I believe knowledge is a mirror; the more you learn about the world, the more you learn about yourself. But you have to be the captain of that voyage.” I encouraged._

_“But I do not know where to begin.” She replied. I nodded in agreement; she was right.  Living in such a rigid, restricted fashion was just hard for me to fathom._

_I started to open random pages.  A couple of screens showed artist painting on canvas, maps of the world, some poetry on one, scenes from an action vidi,  one excerpt from a philosopher, and the video class of a rather eccentric physicist, Yusouf Suleiman. Her eyes lit up. “That one.” She said.  I wondered why she picked that one._

_I expanded it and together we looked at my favorite professor from university.  I smiled as the equations appeared across the screen, as he lectured in his rather colorful way. At least he was entertaining._

_“What is he doing?” She asked, with curiosity._

_“Teaching physics.  The mathematics of how the world functions.” I answered. “He made it interesting.” I looked back at her.  Her eyes were moving quickly over all the screens._

_“Here, try it.” I said, moving the orison in front of her.  “Like this…” I said, showing her the tiny hand movements necessary to split screens, open menus.  She moved her hands expertly, quickly learning how to control the screens.  She had a wide eyed, open smile of delight.  “Very good.” I commented, sitting behind her.  “You learn quickly.”_

_“This interface is similar to the one I use at Papa Song.” She said.  “And yes, we do learn quickly.” She continued.  I did not quite understand._

_“What do you mean?” I queried.  She stopped and looked at me, then looked down shyly._

_“Seer Rhee used to say that Somni fabricants were easiest to train.  We remember every detail.” She returned to work with the screens._

_I got up, leaving her alone for a few minutes to go into the bed room and check on supplies.  I checked my bridge skywalk pod; it was in working order. I had several phasers in the closet on the shelf.   I pushed one small phaser gun into my waistband. I looked around, then I found what I had come to get. It was a digi signaler, which I programed to alert me with location only when activated.  I returned to the living area._

_She stopped for a second to look at me again._

_“Hae Joo,” she asked “What do you look at on your orison?”  I strolled over to her and after a moment of contemplation I opened my locked files.  The red “BANNED” overlay put on there by Unanimity was visible on practically every screen. I looked back at her, to see her reaction.   She blinked and looked at me solemnly._

_“You don’t have to look at these, if you don’t want to.” I said.  She looked between me and the screens._

_“Go on.” She urged.  I was quietly ecstatic.   I considered locking the information on cytogenetics, but did not.  At least it did not talk about exultation._

_“I am a scientist, by training.” I said. Not exactly what I do now, but I left it at that. “But I am very interested in philosophy, so I tend to read that the most.” I maneuvered the bio on Solzhenitsyn before her.  “This is who Mr. Cavendish was referring to last night.” She was immediately captivated.  I leaned back._

_Somni was deeply involved in exploring multiple screens at once, bright eyed, completely engaged.   I backed up against the wall and just took it in.  This is what Union wanted:  a fabricant learning, teaching herself.  Becoming immersed in what was called Union Propaganda.   Union would have wanted me to be more involved in showing her what to read, but I did not believe that was right.   She had spent all her life being told what to do, what to think, threatened with death if she disobeyed; I did not want any part of that with me.  I was in awe of her, how excited she was, doing something so natural, as human as this:  exploring the seas of knowledge.  It was beautiful, as was she.  I looked away._

_At that moment, as if I had called her, she slowly looked back at me and put her arms down.  There was that sweet little smile. I definitely felt a connection with her, that strange sensation in my chest…but I knew I had to remain on task._

_“I like your… philosophy.”  She said. “very complicated.”_

_“I cannot take credit for the work of such brilliant people.” I said, smirking.   She looked back at the screens.   Before, all I saw was a naïve, innocent young woman, and now, I could sense that her inner strength was growing.  But with her innocence will go her peace of mind. I had to broach the topic sometime, and my time for contact was growing short.   I approached and sat down before her._

_“Somni. “ I said, not knowing just how to begin. She turned to face me with that charming air. “They do not like the fact that I took you away from Papa Song.”  Her expression became somber._

_“I know.” She said, softly.  “I cannot go back.” She put her hands in her lap. “I do not want to go back.” I was happy to hear that expression of will._

_“They are looking for you, and they if they find you, they will take you away. You are safe here, now, but we will probably have to go to another place soon. Do you understand?”  I said._

_“Yes, I do.” She looked down. “I will go with you?”  She said softly, raising her eyes.  I put my hand on hers, and stroked it._

_“Yes.  I will be with you, I promise.”  I gave her a small smile.  I was not sure how much of that promise I could keep.  “But first, I must go out for a short while, to make some arrangements. This…” I said, turning over her hand and placing the signaler in her palm “sends me a signal to tell me where you are.  Use this only if you are in danger.  I will come and find you.”  She cradled it in her hands, looking worried._

_I stood up and put on my jacket.  I turned back to her, and there she stood.  She looked sad and nervous.  I walked up to her and held her shoulders.  She was shaking._

_“I will be back soon.  Just keep using the orison and the time will pass quickly.” I suggested.  “Don’t worry, everything will be alright.” I said, reassuringly.  She nodded, but I felt she was not at ease.  I looked at the time.  I had to get to Union command._

_I left the apartment, after showing Somni how to lock the door and reactivate the security behind me.  I rushed down the stairs and onto the elevator on another floor.  Once on the ground, I sneaked out the back door.  Only when I was several blocks away did I turn to look back.  Just a few hours together and a few seconds apart, already I missed her._

_I hurried down into the underground passages and jumped on a small vehicle.  I was speeding on my way to Old Seoul and Union command.  What was I saying to her, about everything being alright?  We were fugitives. I was harboring the most wanted fabricant in the city._

_I arrived to the border of Old Seoul and walked into it silently as I had done hundreds of times.  I hurried down another set of stairs, into the abandoned subway tunnels and waited 5 minutes in the dark to see if I was being followed.  All clear.  I entered through the secret entrance and walked down the specific halls in this labyrinth of tunnels. I spoke my codeword at the inner door.  It opened. The guards greeted me with a nod.   Atul, the Union Doctor and my friend, saw me from further within. His dark skin shone in the dark light, his teeth a bright white in his wide smile.   He signaled for me to join him._

_He greeted me with a firm grasp of my arm. I returned the greeting. “It is good to see you, Chang.  We were concerned, waiting for your message.” He said, walking with me down the hall.  “Just why are you in such a rush?” he asked, looking at me questioningly._

_“I need to speak with Apis.” I said. “I have her.” He stopped short for a second._

_“The fabricant?  Where?” he said, catching up._

_“Safe house in Neo Seoul.”_

_We stopped at the door outside of the General’s Office.  His guard walked in for a second, then came back to the door.  I handed him my weapon,   and after patting us down, he showed us in.  General Apis was there, leaning over a map on his desk.  Several others lingered in the dark corners._

_“Commander Chang.” he said, expectantly. “You are the last one to contact.  We were about to send...” I could not contain myself._

_“General, I have her. Sonmi 451.” I interjected.   He grunted, with a small smile on his lips and sat down. There were murmurs behind us.  I turned to see several familiar faces; one I knew as Damyen, the spy from the head of ministry.  There was also Marcus, a chief enforcer and Damyen’s guard, also Union spies.  I gave a small nod. They were serious, returning the gesture._

_“Well that is good news.  ” Apis said.  He leaned forward. “And how is she?”_

_“She is doing well. “ I replied. “For now she is safe.”_

_“Do you think she will be able to make the transition to free will?” He asked, pointedly.  “And complete our mission?” I knew this was for the spy’s ears._

_“I believe she can.” I said.  Damyen stepped up._

_“The ministry is up in arms. Enforcers are everywhere; the search is extensive in the city; they will question everyone and knock down every closed door.  It is almost as if they know our plans.” He looked over to me, then back at Apis.  “I will see what information they have on Chang and get rid of it if possible.  I will keep you informed.”  Damyen and his entourage left.  Apis watched him go.  There was a questionable relationship between those two. The general looked at me again, this time with a big smile._

_“I knew you would be able to do it, my gentle son.  Now tell me.  What is this Somni 451 like?” he said, motioning to a seat nearby. I sat down._

_“She escaped with me of her own accord, with a little urging of course.  She is very shy and timid, but I believe there is courage and strength in her.  ” I said. “And she has already started learning, reading banned literature...” His eyebrows rose. I continued to sing her praises for a few minutes.  I saw the smirk building on his face._

_“Is that so?” he said.  “When can I meet her?”_

_“Not quite yet.” I said, standing up. “I have not told her certain details of who I am, and why I freed her.” He sat back._

_“I am surprised she did not yet ask.”  He commented, a single eyebrow rising in disapproval.  “Omission can be considered deceit.”_

_“She trusts me” I responded quickly “and does not question my motivation.”_

_“Even so, you must tell her soon.  She should come here, to be safe.” he warned._

_“Yes of course, but...” I said, as I paced.  “I do not want to overwhelm her. I think the problem thus far has been that the other officers were more concerned about the mission than the fabricant they were trying to save.” The general looked at me with interest. “They were doomed to fail.” I insisted._

_“You care about Somni 451.” He said, with that raised eyebrow.   I looked away.  I should have known; Apis could always see right through me._

_”Yes.” I admitted to him, but also to myself._

_“That is why you will succeed.”  He said.  He poured himself some tea.  “Your intentions are pure, Hae Joo. That is what she sees. That is why she trusts you.” I thought that was some kind of approval._

_“I can only proceed as fast as she is able to tolerate. In the end, it must be her choice, to go along with the plan.” I insisted, as Apis sipped his tea and sat back. “Is that not the spirit of our quest? Self-determination?” I asked._

_“Truer words I could not have said.”  Apis nodded._

_We continued our short discussion on security measures; more Union soldiers would be assigned for surveillance around the safe house. Time was not our friend. General Apis did not like delay.  I told him I would prefer to bring her back to my hideout in Old town.  To hide her in plain sight.  There, I hoped to have her continue her learning and development under my close watch in a slightly more palatable place than the tunnels of Old Seoul.  He did not like that plan, but he would allow it._

_I went back to the apartment under the cover of darkness.  I had not been away long, but I felt anxious to get back, if only to allay her fears.  Or were they my fears? I sprinted up the stairs to in the last few floors avoid the cameras in the elevators.  All seemed quiet._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note: Several character souls are introduced here. Atul is the same soul as Autua. Damyen is actually David Mitchell, the author of Cloud Atlas, who plays a cameo in the movie as a Union spy.


	5. Student

_I entered the apartment and I locked the door behind me, securing it before uttering a sound._

_“Somni?” I huffed with exertion. I looked around, not seeing her. For a moment, a rock formed in my chest._

_“Hae Joo?”  I heard her say, and then I saw her look out the door of the bedroom, her hands clasped tight. Relief flowed over her face.  She mirrored my own immediate relief. She walked up to me.  “I am so happy you are back.” She said, seeming almost in tears.  Almost instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her. I was relieved to see her as well.    I breathed heavily as I held her close.  “Is there something wrong?” she asked, worry in her voice._

_“I am fine, just a little winded because I ran up the stairs.” I said, letting her go, sitting down on one of the chairs in the living area.   She put on the table what she had been grasping tightly: the digi signaler.  She kneeled down on her heels in front of me._

_“I do not like being here alone.” She admitted, nervously.  I should have realized that being by herself would be difficult for her.  She was never alone, in Papa Song. “Did it all go well?” she continued._

_“Yes, it did go very well. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have to leave again…”  I said, my voice trailing as my eyes wandered down the close fitting black body suit she was wearing that hugged her curves.  My eyes wandered back to her face, but something was different. I looked at her, puzzled for a moment, and then I realized what was missing. Somni had removed her badges of a replicant server; the two streaks of colored hair on the side of her head. I could not stop the smile forming on my lips as I was staring at her._

_“I like what you have done.” I complemented, as I stroked her hair gently where the colored strands once hung. Her hair was soft and smooth as silk.   She smiled shyly. As I inhaled the clean smell of her freshly washed hair, I realized how sweaty and covered with grime I was from my underground venture.   I stood up and headed to the bathroom._

_“Please, give me a few moments to clean up.” I said._

_When I exited the bathroom, I found Somni standing at the open window looking up.  She now had on a light cover up pulled around her shoulders. I walked up slowly and leaned against the wall, next to her.  She looked over at me, a peaceful expression on her face._

_“What are you looking at?” I asked, scanning the horizon of buildings and city lights._

_“The sky.  The real sky.”  She said soflty.  “We never saw the real sky at Papa Song.  Just a vidi on the ceiling.”   She explained, that look of wonder on her face as she turned her eyes again to the night sky.  My gaze followed.  As I traveled that day, I didn’t realize the storms the day before had gone and left an unusual sight; a clear night.  Sometimes I failed to notice the most beautiful things.  I looked back down at her. Well, on the other hand maybe not; I did notice her.  I looked back at the sky, but most of it was obstructed in this particular view. I had an idea…_

_“Would you like to see it all?” I said.  I knew I was taking a bit of a risk.  She nodded enthusiastically. It would be worth it._

_We walked up several flights of stairs and exited on the roof.  I signaled for her to be quiet while I checked the area.  All clear.  I returned for her._

_“Come.” I said, holding her hand and pulling her to the center of the roof.  She was in awe, her eyes wide.  I stood back and watched her. Sonmi spun slowly looking all around, eyes taking it in like breath.  Her hair swirled around her perfect features, her red lips opened in awe, the light coat flapping around her curves.  I looked up myself._

_The wind was cool, pushing the small shadows of dark clouds past the multitude of stars out that night.  The moon was hidden; it was only the cold blue neon lights of the city that disrupted the sky, closer to the horizon, where the hulking angular shadows of buildings studded with lights reigned supreme._

_“It is so big, endless.” She whispered, drawing my gaze again. “I feel so small under these stars.” She looked at me. I looked at the Constellation Orion. As I pointed, she followed my gaze._

_“There, in that quadrant, are the 4 off world colonies.  Millions of miles away, our human brothers and sisters are extending our reach into the universe.” I said.  At first, I had wanted to travel to the stars.  But then I decided to work on the problems on our home planet first; before it was too late._

_“Your brothers and sisters you mean.   Mine are here on earth, born from womb tanks, genetically engineered for specific tasks.”  She looked at me, with a sad expression, walking away, a little closer to the edge.  She had found the information on cytogenetics. I guess that was to be expected. “We were frequently reminded that we are not purebloods. Not human.”_

_“Somni.   All fabricants are human. You just develop in a different way.   Pureblood is just a term used by those wanting to feel superior.” I countered. She looked at me with a quizzical expression._

_“Do you really believe that?” She questioned._

_“With all my soul.”  I said.  She looked out over the city and looked down; she was about two feet from the edge.  She gasped and became very scared, then became unsteady.  The short wall that made up the perimeter of the roof was not enough to make her feel safe. I rushed behind her, grabbing her arms.  She could not move._

_“Step back, slowly, to me” I said.  “Look up.” She was shaking, but did it.  When we backed up far enough, she turned around in my arms and held my shirt tightly, eyes clamped shut.  I held her close and rocked her, soothing her like a scared child.  “It’s alright, I have you.” I said, pressing my face against her hair.  I felt awful.  I should have been more careful, not let her get that close to the edge._

_“What happed to me?” She said, opening her eyes._

_“You are afraid of heights.  A very common HUMAN fear.”  I insisted, a smirk on my face._

_“But I was afraid of falling off the building.”_

_“That is what I meant.”  I started to laugh, shaking my head._

_We walked back down to the apartment.  She was chilled by the night air, so she went to the bedroom to change. After, we sat down in the living room together._

_“You do not fear heights…” she said, sitting comfortably across from me._

_“True.”  I said.  Especially after Union training, where we had to walk on walls and ropes and bridges and learn to dodge phaser blasts while doing it._

_“What do you fear, Hae Joo?” She asked, with that expression.  I thought about it.  Really, I did not fear many things.  Ah, there was one thing._

_“I fear a world where I could not control my own life.” I said.  She nodded._

_“Control over one’s own life is foreign to me.” She said.  “I did not even know what freedom was.” I leaned back in the chair and looked at her._

_“Did you ever consider leaving Papa Song? To see what was out here?”  I questioned. She shook her head._

_“Yoona was the one who had such aspirations.  Until she showed me the vidi, I just did what I was told. Fear of excisement was enough to thwart any actions beyond that.”_

_“Didn’t you ever want a different kind of life for yourself?”_

_“To want what one cannot have will only lead to unhappiness. At Papa Song, we do not own anything.  Everything is shared with our sisters.  We do not do anything on our own. We did not need anything.  I did not even once consider myself capable of changing my situation.”_

_“Are you happy I took you away from there?” I asked.  She smiled at me, nodding._

_“I cannot see my life being any other way now.”  Already her eyes seemed wiser, richer. She got up and approached the wall showing Old Seoul.  “But sometimes, despite our best efforts, there are things we cannot change.”_

_“What do you mean?” I asked. She turned to look at me, sadness in her eyes._

_“You believe that fabricants are humans.   The rules around us are based on differences between fabricants and purebloods, they define our existence.”_

_“Then the rules must change. The differences between us are not enough that fabricants should be treated as inferior.” I said, trying to convince her.  She knelt down before me, quite close._

_“But we are very different.  Even your heart beats slower than mine.” she said, looking into my eyes.  I was taken aback at how close she just became. “I find it comforting.”_

_The concept of personal space must be different for fabricants.  I did not mind her in mine, but I felt my heart beating harder in my chest, right at that moment, because of her proximity.  She backed up a little, maybe realizing?_

_“Fabricants have faster metabolisms, like that of a child. So you grow faster, breathe faster, and have faster heart beats.” I said, becoming technical.  She smirked._

_“The biggest difference, we are told, is that purebloods are unique and special. There are hundreds of fabricants just like me.” She said, turning away, a little more saddened. “If Yoona had not been excised...she would have been…” she said quietly, not finishing her thought._

_“Somni. Look at me.” I said, softly, yet insistently. She turned her head slowly to face me again. Her eyes rose up. “I want you to know this.  I came back that night to Papa Song just for YOU. Trust me, Somni 451.  You are unique.”  She searched my face. “And very special.”_

_“I am not unique.  I am just a genetically designed diner ...” She insisted.  I must have looked a little cross, because she stopped talking.  I sighed._

_“Let me give you an example.  Identical twins are much like fabricant clones created naturally in a woman’s womb, the babies are genetic equals.  Say I had an identical twin; I would have the same face, same hair, same eyes, and same height, everything as my brother.  But I would still be unique because of my thoughts and my actions.  Our personalities would be different.  It is what we do with what we are given that really matters. That is the truth.” I said.  Her expression changed to a more knowing gaze._

_“There seems to be disagreement as to what is ‘truth’ and what is the interpretation of truth.”  She said. “Earlier, I read of many instances where ‘truth’ was used for the opposite intent.  Lies were used to protect truth.  Respect for life was used as reason to kill others.  Love was used to as a reason to indulge in hateful acts. Freedom was used as an excuse for incarceration.”_

_“Disagreement over what is truth is a constant source of discord and conflict.” I said.  She stood up and walked around. “I disagree with what some consider ‘truth’ in Neo Seoul.” I stated. I could see her mind working by the changing expressions on her face._

_“Making fabricants and purebloods both believe that fabricants are less than human is a means to an end.  In order to treat someone less than human, you have to find a way to make them inhuman.” She said, walking behind me._

_“That’s right.” I agreed._

_“That is why we are told we are fabricants, not humans.” She continued.  “So that we believe we must serve purebloods.”_

_“That is what the fabricant industry and its ‘catechisms’ is all about.” I said.  “Otherwise known as slavery.”  She was now in front of me.  She nodded in understanding._

_“But without the fabricant industry I would not exist.” She countered, her head tilted, her eyes slightly narrowed, looking my way._

_“True enough.”  I replied. “But just because you were created by something does not mean it must control you forever.” She stopped._

_“I read about slavery, throughout the ages.  It occurs once one group can exploit the differences in another and make them subservient.  Until individuals who disapprove try to end the practice.” She looked at me.  I nodded. ”But the generalized perception of injustice has to occur.  Then the generalized intolerance to injustice.”_

_“We humans keep making the same mistakes over and over throughout history, Somni.” I stated.  Now I was truly impressed. She was getting all of this._

_“Catastrophe can occur if these wrongs are made right; in a society based on those wrongs it can devolve into chaos.” She said, turning her head away._

_“Is that enough reason to maintain status quo? Because it is never really maintained, it just gets worse and worse.”_

_“Leading either way to the inevitable collapse of that civilization.” She said, a strange, faraway look in her eyes.  “But there are other truths that help keep the balance through time.  Kindness and wrongdoing twist the fates of souls as they meander through eternity.” I stared at her, in amazement. Now I was the one who was lost._

_We sat in the living area for a little longer, sipping hot chocolate drinks, discussing less heady topics, based what she had read about that day.  Eventually, I was so tired that I convinced her it was time for bed.  I guess the fact also was that I was used to being by myself; being with Somni was certainly enjoyable, but I needed a little time by myself to think. She went to the bedroom and I to my mat in the living area.  I looked up at the vidi on the ceiling._

_I could not believe how much she had read and learned in such a short time, how much she had internalized and processed.   I had been taught about how ignorant fabricants were; I realized that was all a lie.  Somni 451 was brilliant.  But was it just her? Was she unique in her own line? I knew there were slight variations that occurred in the cloning process, but not usually quite that great.  If Somni was any indication of the potential of the fabricants that made what was happening to them under Unanimity all the more criminal._

_But what about what I was feeling for her now?  I had to admit it to myself; my feelings for her were evolving. Was that characteristic part of what was figured into the development of her line? To be endearing? Probably not. On my way back through Old town, I had passed a brothel.  I did a double take; I saw a Somni in the window, looking down at me. She was a stolen fabricant, they are compliant so she now served another “Seer”. She seemed like a ghost like doppelgänger.  Even though she looked identical to Somni 451, she did not have any of the characteristics I found appealing.  She seemed empty._

_That was it; Somni had a personality, a kindness and sweetness to her that I just did not feel for other fabricants.  She had a different look in her eye, expressions on her face.  Was it just her? Or her and me that made the difference?  I did care about her; and that had developed almost instantly.  I don’t know why.  I had never found fabricants attractive or appealing before.  I now found my Somni more captivating than any pureblood I ever knew._

_As I drifted off to sleep, I recalled my discussion with Apis.  I did not want to leave our little place, but we had to.  I made plans in my head, to leave in the evening the next day, under the cover of darkness._

Meronym yawned, looking out over the waters, sky now peppered with stars.  This seemed a good place to stop reading or else she would be sitting there all night. She shut the book, and closed her office.  She was learning much more about the rebellion that eventually overthrew Unanimity than what was previously known, more about the personalities involved.  These artifacts were an important find indeed. 

General Ankor was right; Hae Joo Chang was just the type of person that an innocent like Somni would have needed to introduce her to the world, and to the rebellion.  Meronym knew that if she had met Hae Joo Chang, she would have liked him instantly.  He seemed so gentle and yet committed to his cause, and thankfully, extremely thorough in his writing. Meronym felt like a voyeur in their lives, but as a historian, she felt very little guilt. 

Meronym walked back to her room.  She thought about looking in briefly on Catkin and Zachry.  The new passengers were in a specialized suite where they could be remotely monitored, and where the mechanisms of the room could be accessed and overridden by the Precients with the authority.  That proved useful when Catkin didn’t know how to turn off the water in the bathroom, and Zachry nearly destroyed it trying to shut it off.  They were present in their room, most likely sleeping, according to the waveforms monitoring their vital signs. She walked past their door to her own, which was nearby.

“Scanning…Abnormal vital signs…please visit the infirmary at your earliest convenience.  Notice sent to the infirmary.”  Said the computer in her room, as she entered. 

Meronym rolled her eyes.  She would have to go see Duophysite, the ships doctor.  He was kind but definitely interested in her as more than a patient.  Meronym did not feel quite the same, and could not return his sweet advances.  She had been avoiding him, not willing to go for her post-exposure exam, knowing how much he would scold her for her high radiation exposure. She saw the numbers increasing as she had walked up to send her message on Mount Essau, she stopped looking at it out of fear. 

“What vital signs are abnormal?” Meronym said.  She felt a little tired, but fine otherwise. 

“Blood pressure decreased.  Temperature increased.  Heart rate increased…”

“Ok, thank you that’s enough.” Meronym insisted to her computerized nursemaid.  It didn’t sound much like anything that would kill her overnight, so she just continued with her nighttime routine. Meronym cleaned up for bed then tucked herself into the silken sheets.  She thought over her conversation with Zachry.  His words echoed in her head:  ‘Simple folk believe… walk the earth one day and god Somni next’.

First off, Meronym did not believe that Zachry was a simple man.  He was quite intelligent; as time went on in his tribe, she felt that he would have become a leader if not for the shame he wore in his heart about his brother in law and nephew. He had a certain way of saying and thinking about things in general that demonstrated deep understanding.  If he had been prescient, Meronym wondered what he would have been like, what he would have achieved.

Next, she thought of his proposition of Somni.  World history of religions was peppered with humans who transcended to god status:  The pharaohs in Egypt, Jesus, Mohammed, the Dali Lama.  They were history for her, but the thought of Somni rising to the status of “god” was a confusing one.  She had not yet seen why she did rise to such a religious role later; not only for the Valleymen, but peoples before.  Somni’s words were inspiring and comforting, and spurred discussions of reincarnation and the fate of souls among some of the more philosophical of her people. But Meronym would need more evidence. 

As she drifted to sleep, she thought of Zachry’s strong arms encircling her back on the deck, and how much she liked being close to him. At that moment, when his hands encircled her waist, it sent a flutter in her chest.   Was it his mystery, or his rough exterior and wildness that caught her attention?  All the prescient men around her, though kind, just did not produce that visceral reaction within her.  Maybe it was because he seemed to be a puzzle, a dark, deep pool of wonder, primed for her to try to figure out. But was Zachry ready for her to jump in? 

The next day, Meronym was not feeling well, but she managed to get up to get something to eat.  The boat was rocking a bit side to side so she attributed her lightheadedness to that.  They were trying to go around a wide typhoon, and not get too far off course, so they had to stay fairly close to the effect of the storm, and the ships stabilizers were having a difficult time. While they ran around, she went to put away her things in the office.  Then she was busy helping to batten down the supplies of the ship.  In this endevour, Zachry was very helpful.  He was vigilant with the men, holding large heavy objects in freight as they secured it.  He made a few friends that day.  Zachry nodded at everyone politely, but largely stayed quiet.  He joined her for dinner later that day.

“Wind and wave still win over this vessel when power is in question”.  He said, sitting across from her.  He looked at her face and a concerned expression came over his.  “Meronym, you feeling stomach queasy head a spinning?” he asked. 

“No…not really.” She answered.  Actually, she was feeling worse than before.  “Why you ask?” she wondered.

“Color drained from your face.” He answered, taking hold of her hand.  “Hands like ice they are.” His hand went to her forehead. “Hot like fire feeling.” He said, his concern getting greater.

“Truesome?  Well, I best be going to see medicine man.”  Meronym said, getting up. She had forgotten about her ‘date’ with Duophysite.  Now she was feeling a headache coming on.

“I goin’ with you.” He said.  Meronym turned to protest, but thought against it.  They walked down the hall and as they were about to enter the elevator she faltered a step.  Zachry steadied her.   He took her into the elevator.

“Level 3…” Meronym said, just as she completely lost her balance.  Zachry cradled her fall, then lifted her in his arms, and found his way to the infirmary, as people in the hall directed him.  The world was swirling around, Zachry calling her name getting farther and farther away. 

The next thing Meronym remembered was waking up in the infirmary on a bed.  Duophysite was by her side.   In the background, she saw Zachry pacing and looking quite concerned. 

“You have quite a bodyguard here.” He whispered to her.  “Hello Meronym.  Why have you not come to see me?” Duophysite held her hand and stroked her hair. “And how long have you been feeling ill?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zachry stop pacing.

“Hi Duo.  I’m sorry, I was just so busy…” He crossed his arms.

“Busy trying to hide the fact that you got near lethal levels of radiation poisoning, miss?” He said, picking up a tablet and scrolling through the data.  “You knew I would eventually find out.   I need to treat that as soon as possible.” He said, the scowl on his handsome face a fair warning.  She nodded.

“I just started feeling sick last night.  I know, I should have seen you before.”  She said, smiling.  “I do feel better already.”  He smirked and sat down on her bed.

“A unit of synthetic blood will make anyone so anemic feel better.  I had to give you antibiotics as well; I do not know the origin of your fever.  Our tests thus far show no infection.” He leaned forward.  “I am not worried about now Meronym.  I can do what I must to support you until your bone marrow and the rest of you come back to normal.   I am worried about long term effects.  I am glad I made you wear that lead belt.  At least your fertility won’t be in question.”

“Duo, please!  Don’t talk like that…” she said.

“Meronym, you know you are one of our healthiest young females.  A precious part of our tribe that we must protect.  You should respect that very important position.” He said, leaning close, touching her cheek.  Meronym scowled. 

“Makes me feel like a prized sheep to be put up for mating.” She said, crossing her arms.  Duophysite smiled. 

“It will happen, naturally enough for you one day Meronym,”  Duophosyte said “preferably with someone who deserves you.” Meronym now felt quite uncomfortable but smiled back.   “In any case, you need to stay here for a few days” he informed her. Meronym groaned. 

Zachry walked close to the bed. He had enough of waiting in the shadows.  Duophysite stood up and faced him.  Meronym felt even more awkward now. 

“What he sayin about poisoning?” Zachry asked.

“Radiation poisoning.  Waves in the air, you can’t see it or feel it.  But it harms you.  There are high levels on Big Island. Especially where you went, up on the mountain.” Duophysite said, addressing Zachry’s question.

“You cog what he say?” Meronym asked.  Zachry nodded.

“If I go where she go, how come I not poison samewise?” He asked.  Duophysite looked pensive, then walked around Zachry. 

“True.  Why are you not as affected? Your people are exposed to much more radiation on a regular basis, yet you don’t look the worse for wear…” he said.  He walked away, deep in thought.

“What the medicine man cog ‘bout what happen with you.  You goin get better, right?” Zachry said, crouching by her bed.  Meronym turned her body to face him.

“He say I be alright with medicine.  Just tired’s all.  Restin’ up in here what I need.”

Duophysite approached them again, this time with several other people around him. 

“She will be fine for now… Zachry, is it? But she has to take more care of herself.”  He said, shooting a glance to Meronym, who rolled her eyes and smirked.   He started walking around the bed, waving a scanning device around Zachry, who barely noticed. 

“Then that I make sure you do.” Zachry said, gruffly, looking intently at Meronym. 

“Stop.” Meronym whispered, holding his hand.  Duophysite noticed, pausing for a moment.

“Look, Zachry.  I can’t tell right now if the radiation has had any effect on you.  From what we can see, you are normal and healthy. That should not be possible. But maybe there is something in your metabolism, your blood, that protects you.” Zachry nodded.  Meronym pulled on his hand, to ask if he understood.

“I cog what he say.  Something in valleyman body protectin from the poison.” Zachry responded.  He looked at Douphysite. “How we find out what?”  Duophysite looked impressed.

“We would need to run tests, if you would let us.  Maybe we could find something that can help Meronym.” Duophysite said.  Zachry looked at them, then back at Meronym. 

“Whatever you need I give.  Do what I can to help those who help me and my kin.” He looked intently at Meronym, who looked questioningly at Duophysite. 

“Give me a minute please.” Meronym said to the medical entourage.  They backed away.  “Zachry, you don’t have to…” Meronym said.  Zachry grabbed her hand in both of his, kneeling down so his head was close to hers.  He spoke in a pained whisper.

“Meronym.  I been through enough loss for thousand souls.  Gone, most my family and my tribe, my home. I can’t lose no more, lest I lose my mind.”  His eye locked on hers.  Meronym was touched.

“Alright.” She said, softly.

“Thank you Zachry.” Duophysite said, motioning for him to go with his assistants.  As he walked away, Meronym questioned Duophysite.

“What are you going to do to him?” she asked.  Duophysite crossed his arms.

“We can only theorize the mechanism of the Valleyman and Kona tribe’s resistance to radiation.  We have never had the chance to examine one of these peoples with their permission.  We will have to do some biopsies, take some blood, marrow and run whatever tests we can here on the ship.  He will give us a very important volume of information.”  he said.” And possibly a cure…”

“You are using him.” Meronym acused. 

“That is a little strong, Meronym.” He responded. “Look, when I tried to examine him he was quite reticent when he first came on the ship.  Now, thanks to you, I think he will be quite agreeable.” Duophysite said. “I won’t hurt him. Just some minor discomfort.” Meronym looked over at Zachry, now on the other side of the infirmary.  He was being changed into a gown so they could better examine him.  From across the distance Meronym saw Zachry look her way. 

“Just take good care of him.” She said, turning away from Duophysite.

 

 


	6. Infirmity

When Meronym was told she had to stay in the infirmary, she thought for sure she would go crazy.  She was put in a room they usually used for isolation, because it was the only area with a little privacy.    She was not one used to staying in one place for long.  On the first day of her medical confinement, Catkin came to visit her. 

“Meronym!” the sweet little voice said.  Meronym turned over in her bed and smiled.  Catkin had a bundle in her arms.  Behind her was Zachry.  He pulled a chair closer to bedside.

“Catkin, honey.  How are you?” said Meronym. She gave the little girl a hug.  Zachry flashed a quick smile.  Catkin sat on the edge of the bed and plopped the package in Meronym’s lap. 

“Bring you present make you feel better.” Catkin said.  “Open it! Open it!”  She said.

“Oh I donno.  It gonna bite?” Meronym joked.  Catkin giggled.  Meronym opened the neat wrapping.  Inside was a necklace made of shells, stones and twine.  Meronym picked it up, puzzled.

“It a talisman from home.  Wear this one moonrise and then throw in the ocean. Go with it the demons that made you sick.”  She said, a big smile on her face. Meronym smiled back. 

“Thanksome, young medicine woman.” Meronym said.  Then she looked down again, moving a paper off of her next bundle.  Behind this was a handmade fabric doll, well made, that looked just like Meronym.

“Oh my! She so sweet!”  Meronym practically squealed.  She looked at the tight, well done stitching, and the little details, like the communication device on the side of the head.  “Catkin girl, you talentsome with your hands. This is beautiful.”  Catkin beamed. Meronym was truly impressed

“Been makin it since back at home.  Momma said I do magic with needle and thread.  I teachin it to all the Prescient kids now.  They not so good with the hands.” She whispered to Meronym.

“Not surprizin.  Presient not good teachin practical matters much as booksmarts.” Meronym said.   Zachary pointed back into the package.

“Keep lookin.” He said, gruffly.   Meronym rummaged around.  Inside was the journal from her office.  She looked up in surprise to Zachry.

“Figuring you have some time to do your readin’.” He said.  “Aint nothin’ worse than a story left undone.” He said. She smiled widely but was surprised he would even have touched it.  She reached out and held his hand.

“Thanksome, Zachry, really.” She said, “So how the testin’ going and all?” she said, looking at him with curiosity. 

“Taint nothing but a poking here and there, lying in machines a-buzzin in the ear. None too hard to do.” He said. 

“You told me the needles long like wings on raptor, twice sharp as claws!”  Catkin interjected.

“Was just trying to make your uncle seem brave to you, young un.” He said.  Catkin scowled at Zachry as he smirked. 

“Best be goin to my classes! Bye Meronym.  Hope you better soon.”  Catkin skipped out.  Meronym turned back to Zachry.

“She join the schoolin.  Lovin every minute learnin’ Prescient ways.” Zachry said.  Meronym smiled.

“That be good for young un.” Meronym advised. “She need to know how best be living in prescient village, be her new home now.  And Catkin smart, she learn quick.”  He nodded and looked down.

“Yey, that she is.”  Zachry grew quiet, that brooding expression came over him. “Meronym, why you climb Mount Essau knowin bout poison?”

“My people need me to.  Zachry, you cog muchly bout giving self so kin better.” she said, catching his glance. “So precient friend better?” Zachry looked at her intently.  He leaned over her and stroked her hair.   At that moment, Duophysite walked in, a little taken aback.  He regained his composure quickly. 

“Good morning, Meronym, Zachry.”  He said, walking over to her bedside.  Meronym looked at him.  “You are just getting some more medicine today, no tests. But for you, Zachry, we have some things to do.” He nodded.   

“Like the man said, Got more testing be done.” Zachry said, looking at Meronym and standing up.  After a pause, he leaned forward put his hand on her hair and kissed her forehead, which surprised Meronym.  Duophysite’s brows knitted .  “But have you something interesting in hand, pass the time quickly now.” Zachry said, turning to leave.  He paused at the door and looked back.

“I look in on you later, that OK?” he asked.  She nodded.

 “Please do.”  She sighed.  She smiled at Duophysite, who looked a bit put out.  “Thank you for everything, Duo.” She said, trying to make him feel better. 

After they both left, Meronym laughed at herself.  She was not sure why Zachry chose to kiss her then, but his timing was impeccable, it was something Duot care who else was around. She shook her head.  Simple man, indeed.  

 Meronym leaned back in the pillows, talisman around her neck, the little Meronym doll sitting beside her, finding where she left off in the journal.

_I heard the sound of a hypojet, and felt a sharp sting in my upper arm that sucked my consciousness back to reality.  I blinked, opening my eyes and sucked in an agonizing breath. I became aware of searing pain shooting in my left arm, the back of my head and my ribcage.  I looked around.  I was in the union infirmary. I saw Atul before me._

Meronym stopped for a second, rechecking that she started in the right place.  Yes, this was the very next entry in the book.  She flipped to the back, and she looked again at the picture of the young man.  A chill ran over her body as Hae Joo seemed to stare at her across the ages; the fact that he was also in an infirmary eerie.  She continued reading.

_“Chang! Can you hear me?” Atul said, sounding far away._

_Atul was attending to me in his role as Union physician. I grimaced and groaned in agony. Another hypojet and the pain became less severe, slowly.  My consciousness became fogged.  I relaxed and then I sat up in fear…_

_“Somni! Where is she?” I gasped as I tried to rise, and then gritted my teeth as the throbbing ache shot through my body.  I moaned.  Another hypojet and the world seemed to clear a little more. I could not move my left shoulder._

_“Chang take it easy.  You are lucky to be alive.”  He pushed me down, back on the bed.  “I cannot begin to fix anything until you stop fighting me! I can’t believe I saw you fall ten stories, through a roof, and here you are, still able to think.   You are lucky my patrol was right there in the shadows to scrape you up before the enforcers finished you.”_

_“Where is she?!” I asked again, grabbing his arm desperately. My head pounded with every thought. Atul paused._

_“She was arrested, taken to Ministry.” He acquiesced.   “I think she is still alive but I do not know for how much longer.” He said in a low tone, attending to his instruments._

_“I have to save her… I promised her …” I said, trying to sit up. I fell back, panting, my broken ribs aching with each breath, making me breathe shallow.  Atul looked at me angrily._

_“You are in no shape to save anyone right now. I will have to knock you out with all the work I have to do.” He said, shaking his head._

_“Not yet.” I heard a familiar voice from the doorway say.  General Apis walked in and Marcus followed.  They stood on either side of my bed.  “We need some information.” Marcus said, looking at Atul._

_“He is not ready…” Atul grunted his disapproval._

_“We only need moments, Atul.”  Apis said, waving him back with a hand.  Marcus turned to me._

_“How much does Somni 451 know about Union, and this location?” Marcus questioned.  I breathed short, panting breaths, the only ones I could take._

_“Nothing.”  I panted. “She does not… even …know…I am Union.” I said, my voice failing. “I have ...to save her…”_

_“No, Chang.  You cannot. Not this time.”Apis said.   Marcus nodded then turned to walk to the corner of the room.  My head fell back as a hypojet shot more burning, pain numbing medicine into my arm._

_“I am giving you enough painkillers to drop an ox. Yet you still move.”  Atul complained._

_“I think that we have our information.” Apis said, looking at me, patting my shoulder with fatherly concern. “Carry on, Atul.” Then Apis walked to face Marcus. I closed my eyes, but I could hear every word._

_“That is good to know.  We will not have to silence her.” Marcus said. “That would have been distasteful.”  Silence her.  That meant kill her to keep her quiet, in case they tried to get information out of her.  I struggled to keep still._

_“What can we do to get her out?” Apis said.  Marcus sighed._

_“She is in high security.  Boardman Mephi is coming to see her later to decide what to do with her.  Until then, they will probably leave her alone.“_

_Boardman Mephi.  One of the Unanimity leadership, a cold blooded, calculating eradicator.   He was their propaganda liaison.  He took care of sticky situations._

_“A band of our best men; covert entry from below.” Apis suggested._

_“It will not work.   Even a battalion of Union in full assault would not penetrate fast enough.  They would lock down, and move her where we could not reach her. Or just kill her.“_

_“Blast open the wall, pluck her out, retrieve her that way.”Apis suggested._

_“Too risky.  We might hurt her.  And they would scramble the birds quickly.  Our rescue would never get away.“  Marcus said._

_“Our best lone operative is down.” Apis murmured.  Marcus grunted in agreement._

_“A single man would not stand a chance anyway.  Listen, General.  I know she is important, but now that we know she knows nothing about us, the need to free her…well…may not be worth the risk to Union resources.”  Someone took a few steps.  “There will be other fabricants, right? “  Silence.  I was shaken.  I heard them leave the room._

_“She is a very special fabricant, Marcus.” Apis replied. They walked out of earshot._

_My implant vibrated.  Somni’s digi signaler had been activated.  I had the immediate  flashing of internal images, of locations. Ministry Building.  Twelfth floor.  Northwest corner cell._

_I told her I would come and find her.  I turned to Atul, who heard the conversation between Apis and Marcus as well._

_“They…are going…to let Unanimity…kill her.” I said, between gasps.  He looked at me._

_“It seems so.  Taint much to be done.” Atul sighed, filling a hypojet. “I am sorry, Chang.”   He said, sadly. “This will make you sleep for hours. Maybe help you forget.“_

_I stared at the ceiling, seething with anger. I could not let this happen.   I grabbed his arm, just as he was about to inject me. He looked at me, knitting his brows. I pulled myself up to sitting, grimacing with pain the whole way._

_“What the hell are you doing Chang?” he said, helping lower my legs.  He saw that trying to stop me would have been of little use.   “I don’t even know everything that is wrong with you yet!”_

_“A…battalion of union…may not …be able to…free her…but a lone officer…could…or die trying.” I said, my eyes steely with determination. “I have…to go…save her.”  Atul knew that look and shook his head._

_“This is madness, Chang.  You know it.  At your best, it would be near impossible.  You are injured.” Atul tried to reason._

_“I know…you can fix…me… I am …her only chance.” I panted.  He threw his hands up._

_“I cannot be part of this.”  He said crossing his arms.  “The general will not allow it.”_

_“Then you are …pulling the trigger…and blowing up…. her brain…just the same… as Unanimity.” I said, referring to the implement they used to kill fabricants.  Atul glared at me.  He paced feverishly for a few seconds._

_“Ok.  I’ll do it.  But you are asking me to help you commit suicide!” he whispered angrily, moving around.  He picked up the hypojet._

_“No sedation…I have to…leave soon.” I said.  He sighed deeply, shaking his head in disapproval._

_“Madness…” he said, through pursed lips.  “This is going to hurt. I will try to be quick.”_

_The next thirty minutes was excruciating.  Everywhere Atul did his work, it was burning fire and searing pain sweeping though my skin, deep into bone and body.  I broke into a sweat and felt faint many times but made him continue. After, I lay down quietly for a while to recover, and to let the repairs Atul made set properly.  I closed my eyes.  I tried to piece together the occurrences of last night._

_I remembered being awoken shortly after falling asleep by Somni, her head on my chest.  I was so surprised; I just stared at her for a moment. I had no idea what she was doing, but I remember that I was not upset she was there, so close._

_Then it all happened so fast. My messager vibrated with alarm, and I heard the sound of laser cutters on the door.  I immediately pulled Somni into the other room and fired off the skywalk bridge.  If we got over to the other, largely abandoned, building, we could escape.  It deployed and I started over, trying to convince a terrified Somni to walk over it with me.  As I expected, once she looked down, she couldn’t go on.  She leapt into my arms, holding me desperately close. I understood._

_A second later I was shooting at the window. I had to throw her to the side and shoot at the first round of enforcers that appeared at the window.  I heard her shrieking with fear. I put her behind me and took out the next wave of enforcers.  I picked her up and tried to run across the rest of the way, but they were shooting at my feet. I put her down, hoping I would draw fire away from her…then I lost my balance and fell, the sound of her screaming my name lingering in my ears.  My next memory was the hypojet._

_I opened my eyes after a brief sleep.   The pain was much less then, even in my head.  I stood and moved around, nearly fully functional.  I pulled on some clean clothes Atul had brought in.  He stood at the door, arms crossed._

_“Well,” Atul said.  “What is the plan?”_

_“Honestly, I am still working on it.  But thank you, Atul.” I said.  “I just went back to my place in Old Seoul, if anyone asks, alright?” He sighed and shook his head._

_“I hope she is worth it.” He said. I grabbed the hypojet off the table._

_“She is.” I said, before I took leave of him._

_I walked out of Union command, trying to let as few people as possible see me.  I really had no plan other than getting into Ministry, and somehow getting close to her.  I would have to make it up as I went along._


End file.
